The Rams had Three 7th round draft picks which are generally throw away picks.
It’s not like they have a lot invested in him.
They probably drafted him because getting the SEC co-defensive player of the year near the end of the draft was a good value pick even though his chances of making the team are slim like all 7th round picks.
Simply put, he was the Best Player Available at the end of the 7th round.
I checked at the time, there were plenty available players who were rated above Sam at the time, and at least 5 OLBs that were projected ahead of him.
But why even take a guy that you know is going to bring a whole media circus with him? You can’t tell me they were so naive as to think having Sam in camp wouldn’t be a circus.
That's not true. Defensive End James Gayle out of VPI had more impressive combine scores than Michael Sam, yet he did not get drafted:
| Michael Sam | James Gayle | |
|---|---|---|
| 40-yd Dash | 4.91 s | 4.70 s |
| Bench Press | 17 reps | 26 reps |
| Vertical Jump | 25.5 in | 37.0 in |
| Broad Jump | 114 in | 122 in |
| 3-cone Drill | 7.80 s | 7.19 s |
| 20-yd Shuttle | 4.70 s | 4.27 s |
| Overall Score | 5.22 | 5.31 |
Gayle was signed by the Giants following the draft. I believe he has a chance at making that team.