When you look at great football teams-- whether they're high school teams, college teams from the Heart of America to the Southeastern Conference to the NFL, they all have one thing in common. They all have solid talent on the offensive and defensive lines. This region’s three teams took obvious steps Thursday night to shore up the defensive front. I like what the Rams, Chiefs and Bears did in round 1.

With WR Justin Blackmon off the board, a defensive tackle made as much sense as anything for the St. Louis Rams.  They need good football players virtually everywhere on the field. So, the Rams moved down a bit and added a third second round pick in process.  Michael Brockers constitutes a good start toward re-tooling the Rams roster.  Brockers was one of those guys who my attention when I saw LSU play football. That #90 seemed to be in the middle of things on a regular basis.

Yes, the Rams need WR’s, yes they need o-line help and yes, they need a defensive back or three that belong in an NFL lineup. With three picks in the second round and the second pick in the third round, the Rams have no excuse not to find two, three or four high level players.

Kansas City also went for defensive line help with Dontari Poe of Memphis. Critics of the pick point to his total of 33 tackles last year at Memphis.  That’s not a high total, but the Tigers also tended to line up Poe here and there during his career. In KC he’s going to line up at nose tackle. One position, one set of responsibilities. A long term solution at nose would be huge.  Former #1 pick Glenn Dorsey played well as a 3-4 end. Tyson Jackson appeared to figure some things out as 2011 went on. When veteran pickup Kelly Gregg wore down last year, the defense suffered.

I’d still like to see the Chiefs add an offensive lineman who can get into the starting lineup. Some additional help at running back and tight end wouldn’t hurt either.  As secretive as the Pioli era Chiefs are, it’s hard to get a read on the health of Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki. Other than that, KC might be in a position to simply draft the best football player on their board.  Keep in mind that Pioli comes from New England and the Patriots tend toward taking the best football player on the board at the time.

The Chicago Bears took defensive end Shea McClellin out of Boise State. He’s undersize for a defensive end at 260 pounds. Keep in mind the fact that the Bears also don’t miss on defensive players very often. They also aren’t above moving a guy from his college position.  Remember, Brian Urlacher was a “tweener” between linebacker and safety in college.

Offensive help for Jay Cutler is still needed. Brandon Marshall coming aboard at WR helps. More receivers and better blocking are still needed.

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