The Rams selected Long, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long, with the second overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
"I guess if you just use your common sense and break it down, what we need is what he brings as a football player, but it goes deeper than that," Rams coach Scott Linehan said of the decision to draft Long.
"This kid just brings energy and life to the building when he walks in. It's not because he is Howie Long's son. It's because he is Chris Long and the way he plays, the way he acts and the way he carries himself."
Long said he didn't mind being called Howie's son.
"It's OK because first and foremost I am me and I'm going to forge my own career," Long said. "That's what I'm in the process of doing. If it's added pressure or motivation, I love that. There is no jealously here.
"It's my Dad. I love my Dad. I just hope I can do half of what he did."
Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett actually coached Howie Long, a defensive end who played 13 seasons for the Oakland Raiders and now serves as an pro football analyst for the Fox Network, in 1993.
It was Haslett's first year as an NFL coach and Howie Long's last season as a player.
"Now I'm coaching his son," Haslett said. "Howie was just like Chris. He practiced very hard, he was very intelligent, he goes 100 mph and he was a Hall of Famer.
"I got him at the end of his career, but he was still a heck of a player. That's what you see in Chris."
The Rams opted for Long over Louisiana State's Glenn Dorsey, widely considered one of the best defensive tackle prospects in years.
Rams Vice President of Personnel Billy Devaney said the Rams had Michigan tackle Jake Long, who was signed by the Miami Dophins with the first overall pick on Tuesday, Dorsey, Chris Long and Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston "clumped together" at the top of their draft board.
"There wasn't anything that caused us to shy away from Dorsey," Devaney said. "Our decision the past couple of weeks has been just trying to separate them and see which guy fits best for the Rams."
Long fills a major need for the Rams, who got only 5.5 sacks from all of their defensive ends last season.
"It was a preference with need," Haslett said of the choice of Long over Dorsey. "To be honest, I would have been happy with either one of them because they're both heck of a football players. I loved Dorsey. He's a monster inside. He's one of those guys who comes along about once every 10 years.
"But defensive ends who are effective and can do a lot of things are hard to find. Chris kind of falls into that category."
Linehan immediately declared Long as the Rams' starting right defensive end.
"I don't see it that way," Long said after being informed that he's already a starter. "I will have to earn whatever I get. There are guys that have been busting their tails there, and make no mistake about it, my first order of business is to come in and try to work hard and earn the respect of the veterans and learn from them."
The 6-foot-3, 279-pound Long terrorized opposing quarterbacks as a senior last season for the Cavaliers. He had 14 sacks, 23 quarterback pressures and nine press breakups.
Long was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and was the recipient of the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end.
The Rams met with Long three times -- at the NFL Combine, at his campus workout and again during a predraft visit to Rams Park. They also met with his father.
However, Long said he didn't know that the Rams were going to select him until he heard NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce his name.
"That was the most exhilarating moment of my life, and I can't wait to get out there and start working," Long said.
There were several reports that the Baltimore Ravens were attempting to trade up to No. 2 to take Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, but no deal ever materialized.
"Yeah, there were some teams talking to us about possibly moving up," Devaney said. "I don't know how sincere it was. There were a couple of teams that seemed like they (might) have been semi-serious, I guess, but like we have been saying all along, it was going to take something extraordinary to get us off Chris Long, and that never happened."
Contact reporter Steve Korte at skorte@bnd.com or 239-2522.
