Back in 2014, the St. Louis Rams got the steal of the draft when they selected Aaron Donald 13th overall out of Pittsburgh. At the time, they knew he had a lot of potential, but no one in the front office or coaching staff could have foreseen Donald having a Hall of Fame career and becoming one of the greatest players of all time.
If the 2014 draft were to be held again with the knowledge of how each player turned out, there isn’t a sliver of a chance Donald would make it to No. 13. In fact, he wouldn’t even make it to No. 2.
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Pro Football Focus redrafted that year’s class and Donald unsurprisingly went first overall to the Houston Texans, who originally took Jadeveon Clowney. The good news is the Rams dodged the Greg Robinson bullet in this exercise, taking Mike Evans instead of the disappointing left tackle at No. 2 overall.
Evans has already put together a historic NFL career. His receiving yardage total hasn’t dipped below 1,000 in any of his first 11 seasons, and his elite 92.6 PFF receiving grade since his rookie campaign ranks ninth in the NFL — one spot ahead of 2014 classmate Davante Adams.
At No. 13, the Rams fortify their offensive line by selecting left tackle Jake Matthews, who originally went sixth overall to the Falcons. Matthews would be a logical pick for the Rams, who needed a left tackle but whiffed on Robinson with their earlier selection.
Matthews has only made one Pro Bowl in his NFL career but he’s also only missed one game, which was in his rookie year. He’s the active leader in consecutive starts, playing every single game since Week 3 of his rookie season. That’s 178 straight games started by the former Texas A&M Aggie, a remarkable feat for a player at any position.
The Rams miss out on selecting Aaron Donald, one of the franchise’s greatest players, but Mike Evans and Jake Matthews are certainly nice consolation prizes.
Matthews is still going steady for the Falcons 11 years into his career, earning 70.0-plus PFF grades in every season besides his rookie year. His 85.4 PFF pass-blocking grade this past season placed him seventh among all offensive tackles.
Missing out on Donald would obviously be a franchise-altering occurrence, but Evans and Matthews would have certainly made the Rams better for a long, long time. They’re both still active in the NFL and as consistently available as Matthews has been, Evans has been equally consistent in producing yards.
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He has 11 straight seasons with at least 1,000 yards, topping that mark every year that he’s been in the NFL. He’s a six-time Pro Bowler and has racked up 12,684 yards in his career and he still isn’t done.
Evans might already be a future Hall of Famer but at nearly 32 years old, he still has plenty of time to keep putting up big numbers in Tampa Bay.
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This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams miss out on Aaron Donald, land Mike Evans in 2014 NFL redraft