The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Avery was the first wide receiver selected in the draft, marking the first time or the first time since 1990 and only the second time since 1967 that no wide receiver was selected in the first round.
Avery was taken with the 33rd overall pick, the same pick that produced Isaac Bruce in 1994.
"That's a good omen," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "That's a good place to start."
The Rams were looking to add a wide receiver after Bruce was released in a salary-cap saving move this past winter. He subsequently signed with the San Francisco 49ers.
"Really, I guess I have to step up, huh?" Avery said when informed of being taken in the same spot of the draft as Bruce. "I love competition, I love to be out there. I'm going to do my best to bring a championship back to St. Louis."
Avery is blessed with great speed. He was clocked at 4.34 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his campus workout. He ran the 40 in 4.43 seconds at the NFL Combine despite a pulled hamstring.
"Scott and I and everybody involved kept saying that if there is one thing we wanted to it was that we wanted to get faster on both sides of the ball," Rams Vice President of Personnel Billy Devaney said. "We wanted to add juice to our offense and defense, and this guy is a legitimate speed guy. He's not just a track guy, so to speak. This guy is a legitimate wide receiver."
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Avery caught 91 passes for 1,456 yards and seven touchdowns last season as a senior for the Cougars.
He should provide the deep threat and potential yards-after-the-catch (YAC) that the Rams lacked last season.
The Rams tied for 30th in the NFL in YAC yards last season with an average of 4.1 yards per reception.
"My run after the catch is great ," Avery said. "I like YAC. YAC is my friend."
Avery averaged 15.7 yards per catch for his four-year career at Houston.
"The offense that he comes from, you really did get to see him run with the ball a lot with the bubble screens and the quick screens," Devaney said. "He did a great job of that. He becomes a runner with the ball in his hands. He's looking to score. He's looking for yards. He puts a lot of pressure on defenses.
"The receivers that have played here, there has been a pretty high standard set, and we really wanted to get a guy who could potentially get to that level, and that's how we view this guy Avery over the long haul."
Avery also can return kickoffs having averaged 28.3 yards per kickoff return with a touchdown last season.
Linehan said Avery would challenge for playing time this season as a slot receiver and kickoff returner.
"I'm the kind of player who hates to be sitting on the sideline," Avery said. "If I'm not playing receiver, I want to be on every special team. I want to contribute as much as possible."
Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.
