On DL and OL, yeah - I think you can. And I think they’re more important that developing your own QB from the ground up. Free agent QBs aren’t all the plentiful - but they’re also not all that unbelievably rare. Not that the Colts would rather have Freeney over Manning - but Clausen is no Manning.
Yeah. Besides, if one doesn’t pan out, you’re still mostly set. Having three very good, young defensive lineman is never a bad thing.
The Rams could spring for Vick and then draft Suh.
Matt Millen still thinks the Lions need another receiver.
A more serious answer? It depends how great a talent is available.
For example, in 1980, the New York Gianats had what was regarded as the best corps of linebackers in the NFL. Hence, we Giants fans were OUTRAGED when they drafted another linebacker! We wanted a running back, and were steamed that the Saints took George Rogers, the guy we really wanted, right before we got to make our pick.
That linebacker they took? Lawrence Taylor. We had absolutely no idea how dominant he was going to be.
Get the idea? Even IF the Rams have already been working on their defensive line, they MIGHT still want to take Suh or McCoy, IF they believe he’s a rare, elite talent.
I think the immediate goals have less to do with the decision than the depth of the draft and relative scarcity of positions.
If there were a Peyton Manning type in this draft (even one rated below Suh & McCoy) and the QB class was generally considered to be very top heavy and thin I think the Rams draft the clear consensus #1 QB and hope for the best. The main reason the Rams will probably take Suh in this draft is because the draft seems somewhat deep at QB with perhaps 4 or 5 players who might be seen as interchangeable and ready to lead a team soon. The Rams will bank on one of them either being available in the 2nd round or attainable via trade in the late first. I think an ideal scenario for the Rams is Suh #1 overall and LeFevour at the top of the second (maybe Clausen via a Brady Quinn type slide and trade up).
Of course, that group was surpassed by the Dome Patrol (Jackson, Mills, Johnson, and Swilling), voted the best linebacker corps of all time by NFL Network, and rightfully so. 
WHO DAT!
Both teams had a great bunch of linebackers. Both bunches would have been much better with LT, as it turned out. But how could we fans have known that??
A few days before the draft, there were rumors that “the Saints are gonna take some linebacker from North Carolina. Hey, maybe we’ll get Rogers! Woo hoo”
Goes to show you what we fans know.
Bottom line: if you have a very good group of receivers, you STILL take a Jerry Rice if he’s available.
If you have a great group of linebackers, you STILL take a Lawrence Taylor if he’s available.
And if you have a great defensive front? Well, you have to decide if Suh is that same kind of unique talent. If he is, take him.
He would probably draft Tebow 2nd and turn him into the deep threat receiver.
No you don’t. Not because players like LT and Rice aren’t an improvement to any team they are on, but because you never “know” how good a player is going to be. If the Giants and 49ers claim they expected those careers when they drafted them they are lying.
Suh may or may not be that type of player, but anyone who claims to know that he is is delusional.
Personally I like mock drafts just to get a general sense of which players are expected to go where. Obviously, it’s all a crap shoot and just semi-educated guesses, but still interesting. It’s also much more applicable to positions like OL (which every team can use) than it is for QB (which only a few teams need, and can slide because of it - see Aaron Rodgers). I’m still completely mystified that anyone would have Clausen in the first round, but, I’m not an NFL scout.
As for Tebow, I’m usually of the mind that college production speaks for itself, but one thing I don’t see addressed is his arm strength - not in terms of “how far he can throw it” but how hard/fast he can throw it. He just doesn’t seem to have zip on the ball. Even a guy with low throwing distance can be a great QB in a dink-and-dunk system if he has zing and accuracy. Tebow seems to be the opposite - he can get it downfield, but everything hangs in the air and floats forever. That works at Florida when your receivers are open by 10 yards, but it wont work in the NFL.
If he shows that he does have that zing, he can make it as a good QB in the NFL. If he doesn’t, he’ll end up as a fullback or out of the league.
PT wasn’t really a tough find, though. Illinois is a major program and he kept future first rounder Mendenhall on the bench. I really have NO idea how he went undrafted. I guess he doesn’t have the measurables to stand out in the combine.
But on that note, I’d never even heard of Colgate (Jahri Evans) or Towson (Bushrod). The Saints aren’t going to have the money to keep up with the likes of Dallas and Washington if the cap is gone for a long time, but they’ve been fantastic drafters and they pretty much get all of those guys for 6 years on the cheap. Benson just needs to step up and pay the people that are making these decisions rather than having Payton put some of his own cash to get the guys we need. To be fair, Benson’s general cheapness terms of front office people doesn’t translate to how much he spends on players. The Saints over the last 10 or so years has been in the upper third of the league despite being one of the smallest markets .
Actually, they do.