As we inch closer and closer to the No. 15 spot currently owned by the Philadelphia Eagles, the St. Louis Rams have to be very, very happy with the way the 2012 (fan mock) Draft has unfolded.
Back on March 9, the St. Louis Rams sent the No. 2 overall pick in the draft to the Washington Redskins for their No. 6 pick, a second-round pick this year and first-round picks in 2013 and 2014. Arguably, the Rams' biggest need is at wide receiver and they will have their druthers of the two premier pass catchers in Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon and Notre Dame's Michael Floyd.
Blackmon is 6-1, 210 pounds and thrived as a go-to playmaker in a spread offense at Oklahoma State. He's physical, has great ball skills and knows how to pluck the ball from the air. New Rams head coach Jeff Fisher could very easily pair Blackmon with his young quarterback in Sam Bradford and give St. Louis a legitimate QB-WR tandem. There are some who prefer Floyd to Blackmon. Floyd is a little bigger at 6-3, 220 pounds and ran a slightly faster 40-yard time. He can catch the ball in traffic and is a willing blocker.
Maybe the Rams believe that there is good value at wide receiver throughout the draft. With Ryan Tannehill still on the board, Fisher and general manager Les Snead could trade down and acquire more picks. With Miami sitting at No. 8 and likely to draft Tannehill, could a team enamored by Tannehill be willing to move up?
If the Rams stay and don't want to go wide receiver, they could fortify the offensive line with the player regarded by most analysts as the second-best tackle in Iowa's Riley Reiff.
Fisher's hallmark as a head coach has been good, physical defenses. The Rams added cornerback Cortland Finnegan and defensive tackles Kendall Langford and Trevor Laws in free agency, but the team can still add pieces to a unit that ranked 26nd in points allowed and 22nd in yards surrendered in 2011. It's probably too early for cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore or Dre Kirkpatrick and linebacker Luke Kuechly. The top defensive line prospects remain on the board - Quinton Coples and Melvin Ingram at end and Fletcher Cox or Dontari Poe along the interior.
The Rams are on the clock. Who will be the No. 6 overall pick? The choice is yours.
Previous Picks
1. Indianapolis – QB Andrew Luck, Stanford
2. Washington – QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor
3. Minnesota -- OT Matt Kalil, USC
4. Cleveland - RB Trent Richardson, Cleveland
5. Tampa Bay - CB Morris Claiborne, LSU
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