With first-round draft choice Robert Thomas already projected into the starting lineup, the St. Louis Rams assured that the former UCLA linebacker will not be tardy to training camp, reaching agreement on a five-year contract late Monday night.

The contract is worth $5,752,500 and includes a $3 million signing bonus. The base salaries are $367,000 (2002), $458,750 (2003), $550,500 (2004), $642,250 (2005) and $734,000 (2006). The salary cap figure for 2002 is $967,000.

The 31st player selected overall, Thomas became only the seventh first-round week. The Rams open camp on Friday and having Thomas there was a priority.

"It was important to get the business end out of the way and move on to football now," Thomas said. "I want to be focused on one thing and now I can."

Some scouts leaguewide felt that the undersized Thomas (6-feet, 229 pounds) would fall out of the first round but St. Louis, which places a premium on speed, had tabbed him as a potential top pick weeks before the draft. In fact, the club discussed contract parameters with agent David Dunn while "on the clock" in the first round, and that helped lead to the Monday night accord.

Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith already has penciled in Thomas as the starter at the key weakside linebacker spot. In the Rams defense, the weakside linebacker is deemed to be a playmaker, with both blitz and coverage responsibilities. The Rams are so certain that Thomas can do the job they moved second-round pro Tommy Polley, inarguably one of the NFL's top rookie defenders in 2001, to the strongside spot.

Thomas, 22, was a two-time finalist for the Butkus Award, which honors the country's top linebacker, in college. He plays with good pad level and typically strikes a rising blow, can run in the low 4.5s and is an excellent player in pursuit. If he has a problem, it is taking on plays directly at him, but he still has a knack for shedding blocks and finding the ball.

He finished his college career with 293 tackles, 10 forced fumbles, eight sacks and eight passes defensed. Thomas appeared in 39 games and started 31 of them.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.