The Los Angeles Rams drafted edge rusher Robert Quinn with the No. 14 overall pick in 2011. And while he enjoyed a solid seven years with the team before playing his final five years elsewhere, Quinn wasn’t the best player the Rams could have taken at that point in the draft.
Pro Football Focus recently re-drafted the 2011 draft to determine which players should have gone where. For the Rams, they picked edge rusher Justin Houston with the No. 14. Houston ended up going 56 picks later to the Kansas City Chiefs.,
“Quinn was certainly a worthy selection here and will hear his name called very soon in this redraft, but Houston enjoyed a slightly better career,” PFF wrote. “The four-time Pro Bowler boasted a career 91.0 PFF overall grade, and his 22 sacks in 2014 are tied for the fourth most in NFL history.”
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Quinn went with the next pick to the Miami Dolphins. So while the decision to add Quinn wasn’t a bad one, Houston objectively had a better career than him. Quinn finished his NFL career with 102 sacks, 62.5 of which were with the Rams. He also made three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro. Houston, meanwhile, tallied 112 sacks and made four Pro Bowls and one All-Pro.
Sadly, Quinn was the only good player from that class for the Rams. The only other picks who lasted more than a season were tight ends Lance Kendricks and receivers Austin Pettis and Greg Salas. While Kendricks had a OK career with the team, none of them really panned out.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Should the Rams have drafted this edge rusher instead in 2011?