ST. LOUIS — As the second pick of last year's draft, Chris Long is familiar with the pressure St. Louis Rams teammate Jason Smith must be facing as this year's No. 2 overall selection.

The defensive end said Saturday at the team's minicamp that his comfort level was "night and day" compared to last year.

"When you come out of the draft you feel like you're a burden," Long said. "You're a rookie, you're screwing everything up, everybody's looking at you and you're trying to catch up with everybody else."

Plus, there's the money. Long vaulted to second on the Rams' salary list with a five-year, $48 million contract last year before playing a down.

Smith figures to get even more, which instantly clicks on the high-intensity lamp.

"I feel for the guy," Long said. "He's got a lot of pressure on him, and that's what people don't understand. It's immense pressure."

Long's advice: "Just focus on day to day and don't get overwhelmed. I know it seems like everyone's pulling at you but just be you, and he's seemed to do that so far."

Long had four sacks as a rookie, giving the Rams a second pass-rush option they'd long lacked opposite veteran Leonard Little. It was a solid debut season, if short of spectacular.

The son of Hall of Famer Howie Long tried to block out the expectations that go with that No. 2 tag and focus on daily and weekly improvement.

"Sometimes it bothers you, but your job is to weather that storm of pressure," Long said. "There's going to be pressure no matter what situation you're in, whether it be (going) 2-14, not starting, battling for a position, whatever it is.

"I believe everybody's got their own battles to fight."

Nobody's forgotten Long was the second pick behind Dolphins tackle Jake Long, who went to the Pro Bowl. But with the passage of time and the experience from his rookie year he's expecting a jump this season.

"Maybe not a breakout season or whatever you want to call it, but I just want to be productive," Long said. "I want to live up to my own expectations and just to continue to get better."

For now, Smith is saying all the right things and doing his best to fit in. He's been spotted carrying a lot of veterans' equipment back to the locker room during minicamp.

"Obviously, there's a lot of grown men out here, and coming from college to pros is a big step in speed and strength," Smith said. "Getting opportunities to see guys such as Leonard Little at defensive end every day, that's a big deal.

"I'm just glad to be part of this team."

Of course, there's pressure everywhere for a franchise that's undergone massive upheaval after going 5-27 the last two years. The Rams get an extra minicamp under new coach Steve Spagnuolo to get acclimated to new systems on both sides of the ball.

The biggest challenge may be for a defense which had three years without radical change under Jim Haslett. Cornerback Ron Bartell described it as a "culture shock," but one that the team needed.

"It's like learning to read all over again," Bartell said. "We spent the last three years in the same defense, so we got to know that pretty well.

"And then to throw that out the window and learn new terminology, new techniques, new blitzes and covers is definitely different. Right now we don't look like where we want to be."