Rams Up the Offense in Final Day of Draft

The Los Angeles Rams chose Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee with their first choice on the final day of the NFL draft Saturday, 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 on Saturday, 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.”

Saturday’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.

–-City News Service, photo courtesy of the LA Rams