When the Rams made their 2nd round pick of the NFL Draft, many longtime football fans that go all the way back to the old St. Louis Football Cardinals thought that George Boone had sneaked into the Rams' draft room.

Boone was the draft director of those old football Cardinals, and he was renowned for making screwball choices.  For example, he once made Missouri quarterback Steve Pisarkiewicz a first-round draft choice...despite the fact that "Zark" was virtually blind in one eye.  Boone also selected linebacker Johnny Barefield, whose lasting legacy to team history was the wearing of a quarter inside of his outer ear.  Unfortunately, his play on the field wasn't worth the 25 cents that rested in his ear.  And, wide receiver Clyde "The Glide" Duncan was characterized by then-head coach Jim Hanifan as someone who couldn't catch, couldn't run, and who didn't like football.  Other than that, Hanifan said Duncan was a fine player.

So, when the Rams selected wide receiver Donnie Avery of the University of Houston with their 2nd round pick and 33rd overall pick in the NFL Draft, people were probably doing Google searches en masse on Avery.  After all, Avery was the 14th-ranked wide receiver in the draft according to Scouts, Inc.  And, he was chosen over the rest of the wide receivers in the draft, who had better pedigrees and played in high-profile conferences. 

What they found put their minds at ease.  Avery did play in the much-weaker Conference USA, but he still caught 91 passes last season for 1,456 yards, and returned a kickoff 100 yards.  And, he has run a 40-yard dash in a sensational 4.2 seconds. 

With that kind of speed, Avery can be another Kevin Curtis...a rarely-used wide receiver who has blazing speed that stretches opposing defenses.  Let's hope that Avery can avoid replicating the dubious legend of Duncan.