Who will be #2?

Michigan OT Jake Long is off the board, which takes the pressure of mock drafters everywhere. The St. Louis Rams pick second, and they desperately need help on the defensive line. I spoke with a member of the Rams organization today who said that the Rams were disappointed that the Dolphins took Jake Long. He would have been their guy. Marshall Faulk told me the same thing a few hours ago. The Rams wanted Jake. But now that he's gone, it's going to be either a defensive end or a defensive tackle.

The first two names that jump out are Virginia DE Chris Long and LSU DT Glenn Dorsey. There's also a chance that it could be DE Vernon Gholston from Ohio State. There has been a consensus amongst the scouts and coaches with whom I have spoken that Chris Long > Gholston. When it comes to defensive tackles, USC's Sedrick Ellis is close behind Dorsey, but there isn't much doubt that Dorsey will go first.

Here is what the scouts and coaches with whom I have spoken had to say about Long, Gholston and Dorsey. They spoke to the Yard under the condition of anonymity, so sorry for not being able to tell you who they are, other than generalities. Stay tuned at the end for not-so-subtle suggestion that one of these guys might be taking performance-enhancing funny stuff.

CHRIS LONG (NFC scout): "I don't think Chris Long is a dominant player. I've watched tape where he gets handled. He's got everything. Solid. Plays with love. Plays hard. I think he's better and the base is not that low on him, but I don't think he's Patrick Kerney. Pretty prepared, professional, great kid."

CHRIS LONG & GLENN DORSEY (NFL coach): "There is a lot of pride in the way they play. You can tell it's important to them by how hard they play. They're tough. Play hard all the time."

CHOOSING BETWEEN CHRIS LONG & VERNON GHOLSTON (NFL coach): "You're looking for the different skill sets that each guy would bring to your team. Some of the intangibles. I would go with Chris Long. He is a physical player. He's disruptive. Plus there is the intensity that he brings to the team by how hard he plays. He makes your team better. He's a football player. He plays with good technique. He's going to affect the rest of the team by the way he plays. Plus he's an every-down player with good measureables. The negative person might say he's a safe pick, that he's not a game-changer. Some might say he's not special in any one area. Others would say he's clean... no off-field issues, no injuries."

VERNON GHOLSTON (NFC scout): " Vernon Gholston is going to be a bust. He doesn't play hard every play. He's not a great pass rusher. If you look at defensive ends, that's a risky pick. He has great numbers but I don't see that athleticism on the field. He does't play to his speed time. Gholston is a good kid but if you watch tape, he doesn't dominate. There's something about Gholston that doesn't look natural, if you know what I'm saying."

Do you know what he's saying? I know what he's saying, or more accurately, what he said. There was no doubt in his tone. The scout definitely meant to imply that Gholston has juiced; however, the questions remains whether or not this information is legitimate, or if the scout was simply seeding the landscape with false rumors, which is certainly not uncommon during the week prior to the Draft.

A similar thing happened last year with RB Adrian Peterson, when the Vikings front office jokingly suggested that Peterson needed surgery. Next thing you know, it's being reported that Peterson needed surgery, and the next thing you know after that, Adrian Peterson = Purple Jesus. Winner... Minnesota Vikings. The only difference this year is that the rumor is an attack on someone's personal character, which is a whole lot different than questioning someone's medical history.

- Dewey