The St. Louis Rams drafted seven players over the weekend and traded up to get a player they didn’t expect to be around in round one. The Rams had the 26th pick in the first round but moved up two spots to 24th by trading their first and fourth round picks to the Lions. They used the slot to select Oregon St. running back Steven Jackson, who rushed for 1,545 yards as a junior last season. He made his way into the end zone 19 times and also caught 44 passes for 470 yards and three more touchdowns. In the second round they selected a defensive end that hasn’t played since 2002. Tony Hargrove was declared academically ineligible for the 2003 season at Georgia Tech and decided not to return to school. In 24 games at Tech, he had 70 tackles and six sacks. Outside linebacker Brandon Chillar of UCLA was taken with the Rams’ third-round pick and free safety Jason Shivers was the team’s fifth-round selection. In round six, St. Louis took a chance by drafting Michigan St. quarterback Jeff Smoker, who was suspended for the last five games of the 2002 season after admitting to a substance abuse problem. In 2003, he became the first Spartan quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in a season. With two picks in the seventh round, the Rams selected Iowa tight end Erik Jensen and offensive tackle Larry Turner of Eastern Kentucky.
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