The St. Louis Rams had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last season, and they continued to address that problem on Saturday afternoon by taking corner back Tye Hill of Clemson with the 15th pick of the NFL Draft. The Rams originally had the 11th pick but traded it to Denver and the Broncos who took Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler. In return, the Rams moved four spots lower in the first round to 15th and they got an additional pick in the third round at 68th overall.

As a senior at Clemson, Hill had 54 tackles, five for losses with one sack and three interceptions. Hill is still on a bit of a learning curve, starting his career as a running back then switching over to CB. He has just three seasons worth of experience at the position.

The Rams’ defense gave up 26.8 points per game, which was second worst in the NFL last season and they were third-worst in total defense, allowing 350.1 yards per game. During the off-season, St. Louis signed safety Corey Chavous from the Vikings and CB Fakhir Brown from the Saints to help seal up their defensive back field. They also signed DL La’Roi Glover from the Cowboys and LB Will Witherspoon from the Panthers.

In round two, St. Louis went with Colorado tight end Joel Klopfenstein. There was some thought that the Rams might go with tight end Vernon Davis of Maryland if he was available in the first round, but he went to the 49ers with the sixth pick.

Klopfenstein earned All-Big 12 First Team honors last season, catching 32 passes for 453 yards and four touchdowns.

With their extra pick in the third round, the Rams selected LSU defensive tackle Clade Wroten, who made 49 tackles (10.5 for losses) and collected six sacks.

They continued their quest for defense in round four, by selecting outside linebacker Jon Alston of Stanford. He made 52 tackles (9.5 for losses) and had 6.5 sacks. Alston also forced a fumble and picked off a pass.

With their third pick of the third round, the Rams went with USC tight end Dominique Byrd, who caugh 29 passes for 306 yards last season.