Lowly Rams are on the NFL draft clock

~ St. Louis has until April 22 to decide what to do with its top overall pick

ST. LOUIS -- School pride trumps position envy for Adam Carriker, who says he wouldn't have a problem if the St. Louis Rams use the top pick in the NFL draft to take another Nebraska defensive tackle.

No matter if he and Ndamukong Suh, generally considered the top prospect, might end up competing for the same job.

"Yeah, bring in Suh," Carriker said Monday. "I mean, why not? If they feel he's the best player. Whoever they bring in, they know what they're doing."

It will be a high-profile offseason for the lowly Rams (1-15), for all the wrong reasons. They traded up to draft Orlando Pace No. 1 overall in 1997, but this season clinched their No. 1 pick on the field for the first time since 1963 with a fourth-quarter collapse in Sunday's 28-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

St. Louis is 6-42 since 2007, the worst three-year run in franchise history. So there's no shortage of needs on both sides of the ball.

"We need playmakers," Rams general manager Billy Devaney said. "Guys that can score touchdowns from way out, that can sack the quarterback, make a difference, impact the game.

"I think that's what we have to focus on at this point, guys that are game-changers on both sides of the ball."

On offense, the Rams totaled a paltry 175 points, scoring one touchdown or fewer in 13 games and with only Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson a consistent threat. They gave up 436 points on defense and appear to need help at linebacker, on the line, the secondary and, of course, quarterback.

The Rams already have two first-rounders on the defensive line in end Chris Long, the second overall pick in 2008, and Carriker, the 13th pick in 2007 whose career thus far has been dogged by injuries.

The decision this April will be whether Suh, who had a breakout game in a losing cause to Texas in the Big 12 championship game, stands out ahead of the likes of Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant and Clemson running back C.J. Spiller, to name a few others at the top of the class.

Carriker, who's rehabbing from shoulder surgery that landed him on injured reserve in the preseason, remembers Suh as a promising redshirt freshman before he left Nebraska for the NFL.

"I knew he'd be good," Carriker said. "I had no idea he'd be this good. I knew he had a lot of potential, so obviously he lived up to it."

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo spent 20 minutes talking to players, then cut the team loose until March 15 when the offseason conditioning program begins. He knows there's plenty of time to evaluate the big choice.

"You've got to let me get over the San Francisco game first," Spagnuolo said. "Let me get through this day first. It's not the 12th hour."

Spagnuolo doesn't anticipate any changes in the coaching staff entering a second year that he believes will not be nearly as painful as the first. He's confident that the game plan will work, in time.

"You don't just jump ship on process, schemes, people," Spagnuolo said. "I'm going to sit down and evaluate everything, that's my job to do that."

The Rams had lost 17 in a row before winning at Detroit in early November and carry a 13-game home losing streak into next season.

They ended the year with 13 players on injured reserve and at least three others who could have been on IR, forcing them to dig deep for reserves on an already-thin roster after the rebuilding began with the departures of veterans Torry Holt, Orlando Pace and Will Witherspoon.

Throughout the ordeal, Spagnuolo remained relentlessly upbeat.

"I think there's a right and a wrong way to handle things," Spagnuolo said. "I try to do it the right way. I hope I did it right."

Players drew inspiration from their coach's positive outlook.

"That guy is the ultimate professional," defensive tackle Clifton Ryan said. "There's a lot of times he could have turned on us, and he always stayed even keel.

"He never dog-cussed us or anything like that. He never disrespected us."