LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Los Angeles Rams chose Western Kentucky tight
end Tyler Higbee with their first choice on the final day of the NFL draft
today, then selected two receivers, another tight end and Kentucky linebacker
Josh Forrest with their remaining picks.
The Rams made a trade with the Chicago Bears today, moving down four
spots in the fourth round in exchange for a sixth-round choice they used to
select Mike Thomas, a receiver from Southern Mississippi.
The Rams selected South Carolina receiver Pharoh Cooper with their
second fourth-round pick.
The Rams didn’t have a choice in the fifth round because they used it in
last year’s supplemental draft on tackle Isaiah Battle.
The Rams used the second choice in the sixth round, acquired from
Tennessee in the trade brought that the No. 1 overall pick, on South Carolina
State tight end Tamarrick Hemingway. They used their own sixth-round pick on
Forrest.
The Rams traded their choice in the seventh and final round in 2015 to
Houston for quarterback Case Keenum, who started five games for the Rams last
season when they were based in St. Louis.
“We feel like we had a very productive day today,” Rams coach Jeff
Fisher said. “Really excited about the way things went. Really excited to have
the tight ends be in the situation where they were, where we could help to add
depth to that position.
“Of course, the two receivers are going to help that depth as well. We
go through this every year, where you got a guy up there and then all of the
sudden he’s gone and then you have to maneuver and all of that. But (we) did a
great job picking up the extra pick, so we got an extra play with that.”
Higbee was the 110th overall choice, the highest a Western Kentucky
offensive player has been chosen. He was the first Hilltoppers offensive player
to be drafted since 2003 when the Cincinnati Bengals chose fullback Jeremi
Johnson in the fourth round.
The 6-foot, 6-inch, 249-pound Higbee was a first-team All-Conference USA
selection in 2015, catching 38 passes for 563 yards and eight touchdowns in
nine games. He missed four regular-season games because of a knee sprain,
reaggravated the injury in the Conference USA Championship Game, forcing him to
miss the Miami Beach Bowl.
Higbee was arrested April 10 on suspicion of assault, fleeing or evading
police and public intoxication in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
“We’re convinced that it’s going to be resolved,” said Fisher, who
added that he couldn’t go into specifics. “He wouldn’t be a Ram had we had
some concerns that it was going to be a problem down the line.”
Said general manager Les Snead: “The research that we did, we did feel
like he was a guy worth investing in for the long term. It’s a mistake; wish he
had a do-over again.”
In a conference call with reporters, Higbee said, “It’s kind of a legal
matter right now, so I am not really supposed to speak on it.”
Today’s choices were the Rams first since they opened the draft Thursday
by selecting Cal quarterback Jared Goff with the first overall choice. They
didn’t have choices in Friday’s second or third rounds because of the trade
with Tennessee.
Goff, Higbee and the team’s other picks in the draft, and the players
bypassed in the draft they sign as free agents, will participate in the team’s
three-day rookie mini-camp, which begins Friday at the Residence Inn River
Ridge in Oxnard.
CNS-04-30-2016 23:54
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