St. Louis picks off Garrett in the fifth

SMU cornerback Kevin Garrett was taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft on Sunday. Garrett was selected by the St. Louis Rams.

Garrett, a four-year letterman at the Hilltop, has the opportunity to help the Rams special teams and provide depth in the secondary.

The Rams were looking to add speed and Garrett’s 40-yard dash time was the fastest at the combines. He was one of three cornerbacks the Rams drafted this weekend.

Garrett caught the eye of NFL scouts at the Senior Bowl in January. Mike Martz, head coach of the Rams, took notice of Garrett before the game was even played.

“Down at the Senior Bowl practice, [Garrett] made two or three huge plays that really caught my eye,” Martz said. “The other aspect about him is that he’s a world-class sprinter.”

Garrett has the opportunity to learn from future hall-of-famer Aeneas Williams who currently starts for St. Louis. Garrett and the other cornerbacks St. Louis tabbed – Shaun McDonald, DeJuan Groce and Shane Walton – before him will compete for playing time.

“I think there’s a tremendous pool from those three corners to develop at least one of them and maybe all three of them,” Martz said.

Garrett was the 19th cornerback selected – somewhat late for someone with his speed and athletic ability. Critics note his size and wonder if he can match up against NFL recievers.

“Through all of the interviews, it always comes up that I’m 5-9,” Garrett said. “I’ve been small all my life. I’ve always had to prove myself, and I’ll have to do it again. I will do it again.”

Some solace can be found in the fact that many prolific defensive backs have been called undersized. Darrell Green, a current Washington Redskin and the oldest player ever to start at cornerback, is smaller than Garrett, yet has had a career that will land him in Canton.

Signed rookies will report to the St. Louis Rams in mid-May and work until June 27.