EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The NFL draft is set to begin April 30 and the St. Louis Rams hold six picks in this year's selection process. For the next week and a half, we'll take a look at a different position every day with what the Rams have in place at a position, what they need, when they might address it and some possible fits.

We continue the countdown with a look at this year's crop of linebackers.

In place: James Laurinaitis, Akeem Ayers, Alec Ogletree, Daren Bates, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Marshall McFadden, Korey Toomer.

What's needed: After moving quickly in free agency to add Ayers to the mix, the Rams don't have a lot of need for help at the position. Ayers and Dunbar will compete for a starting spot opposite Ogletree and Laurinaitis remains as the rock in the middle of the defense. And though he doesn't technically count as a linebacker, safety Mark Barron has played a role similar to one for the Rams figures to get more opportunities this year. The addition of Ayers gives the Rams better quality depth behind the starters whether it's him or Dunbar coming off the bench. Bates is the team's best special teams player and McFadden and Toomer can compete to continue in their special teams jobs as well. The Rams don't have a lot of need here at the moment but they probably wouldn't mind adding another capable body, particularly one who could serve as Laurinaitis' backup and perhaps even develop into his long-term replacement down the road.

Possible fits: Finding 4-3 linebackers in the draft isn't an easy task. There's plenty of pass-rusher types who would fit in a 3-4 defense and some who could probably handle a Von Miller type role as a pass rushing outside linebacker in a 4-3. But in terms of pure 4-3 linebackers, it's a class lacking in options. Among the few names that could make sense for what the Rams need are UCLA's Eric Kendricks, Washington's Shaq Thompson, Mississippi State's Bernardrick McKinney, Louisville's Deiontrez Mount, Miami's Denzel Perryman, Florida's Neiron Bell and TCU's Paul Dawson. Others, like Clemson's Vic Beasley, Kentucky's Bud Dupree, Nebraska's Randy Gregory and Virginia's Eli Harold might be better suited as ends who need to add size in a 4-3 or slide into a role like Miller played for the Broncos when they employed a 4-3. The Rams have expressed interest in plenty of those names, including pre-draft visits with McKinney, Dupree, Beasley and Mount.

Verdict: The Rams clearly have interest in many of these players but whether that's due diligence or genuine interest remains to be seen. Players like Gregory, Beasley and Dupree might be considered ends but either way, the Rams would have to take them in the first round to land them. Of that group, Beasley seems like the most likely to draw the Rams' eye. Otherwise, guys like McKinney and Thompson might be there in the second but it seems using a valuable pick on a linebacker that early would be superfluous. The guess here is that the Rams add a linebacker at some point in the draft but it doesn't happen until Day 3. The only caveat to add is if one of the pass rushing types slips to No. 10 and the Rams view him as clearly the best player on the board.