SB Nation St. Louis - 2012 NFL Draft: St. Louis Rams Trade Down, Washington Redskins Pursue Robert Griffin III

NFL Mock Draft 2012: Rams Select WR Justin Blackmon In Latest Mock Draft

2012-04-20T19:50:39Z

The latest NFL mock draft from the Sporting News correspondents has the St. Louis Rams selecting Oklahoma St. Cowboys WR Justin Blackmon:

6. St. Louis Rams: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State
The Rams have no greater need than wide receiver, which has been the case for several years. Blackmon may not have the sizzle of a Calvin Johnson or A.J. Green, but he is highly productive, excels at making yards after the catch and has a knack for big plays. — Jim Thomas, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Blackmon is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, wide receiver prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Here is a look at Blackmon's statistics from his final season at OSU:

	Receiving					Kickoff Returns					Punt Returns
G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD	KR	YDS	AVG	Lng	TD	PR	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD
13	121	1522	117.1	12.6	18	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	2	2.0	0	0

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth Rams coverage, head over to Turf Show Times. For more on the 2012 NFL Draft, check out SB Nation's dedicated section and Mocking the Draft.

NFL Draft 2012: Janoris Jenkins Set To Visit St. Louis

2012-04-07T19:00:24Z

While it wasn't the only reason for the struggles last season, the injury-depleted secondary certainly didn't help the Rams during their 2-14 season. After releasing Ron Bartell in the offseason, it seems clear that St. Louis will be on the lookout for talented defensive backs in the upcoming NFL draft.

Although the Rams have been linked with former LSU DB Morris Claiborne, it seems they might be doing their due diligence on one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft. According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Janoris Jenkins is set to visit the Rams next week:

@jthom1: We have confirmed visit by North Alabama cornerback Janoris Jenkins to Rams as team gears up on pre-draft visits next week.

Jenkins isn't an option at No. 6, but he could potentially be available late in the first round. Jenkins made his name as one of the top defensive backs in the country when he was at Florida. However, a string of off the field issues saw him dismissed from Florida. He finished his career at North Alabama.

SB Nation St. Louis has you covered on every angle of the 2012 NFL Draft as it pertains to the Rams. For more in-depth Rams coverage, head over to Turf Show Times. If you want more 2012 NFL Draft coverage, check out SB Nation's dedicated section at Mocking the Draft.

NFL Draft 2012: Rams Set To Host Rueben Randle Next Week

2012-04-07T17:16:48Z

One of the primary focuses for the St. Louis Rams this offseason has been to improve the talent around Sam Bradford. While the Rams have done some solid work on the offensive line, continuing to improve the depth at the wide receiver position could prove to be a priority in the 2012 NFL Draft.

While the Rams may look at wide receiver with the No. 6 pick, there are certainly some options early in the second round as well. According to Jim Thomas at the St. Louis Post Dispatch, one player they have their eyes on is former LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle, who will visit Rams Park before the draft.

The Rams continue to line up draft visits. Two prospects from Louisiana State, defensive tackle Michael Brockers and wide receiver Rueben Randle, are scheduled to visit next week. Brockers could go somewhere in the top half of the first round — and could be an option if the Rams trade down from the No. 6 overall pick.

Even though LSU lacked great quarterback play, Randle still managed 53 catches for 917 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He's projected as a late first, early second-round pick, and could be an option for the Rams at either No. 33 overall or No. 39 overall.

Randle was one of the top offensive options for an LSU team that went undefeated in the regular-season. He has the speed to stretch the defense and could give the Rams a true deep threat.

NFL Mock Draft 2012: Mel Kiper Projects Rams To Select Justin Blackmon With No. 6 Pick

2012-04-04T20:07:20Z

The latest mock draft from ESPN's Mel Kiper was released on Wednesday, and he projects the St. Louis Rams to select Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon with the sixth overall pick. The Rams have been tied to Blackmon for a while now given their dearth of offensive weapons.

The possibility remains that St. Louis could move off this spot, but if they stay here and get Blackmon, they'll immediately upgrade a huge weakness, which is the lack of talented options for Sam Bradford in the passing game. Blackmon's speed is adequate, but his smarts, ball skills, route-running and work habits translate to a guy that can contribute immediately, which is what this offense desperately needs.

Blackmon put up huge numbers for the Cowboys and could potentially do the same with Sam Bradford in St. Louis. Kiper also includes a projection of the second round in his mock, and St. Louis has two picks in that round thanks to trading down from the No. 2 overall pick.

With the No. 33 pick, which is actually the Rams' pick, Kiper projects the team to take Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy. A few picks later, Kiper projects St. Louis to take Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams with the No. 39 overall pick that they acquired from Washington.

NFL Draft 2012: Andrew Luck-Robert Griffin III Rumors Still Flying, Somehow

2012-04-03T14:00:53Z

It's the 2012 NFL Draft side-story that refuses to die: People continue to suggest that the possibility exists the Indianapolis Colts, who dumped Peyton Manning to draft Andrew Luck, will instead take Robert Griffin III, for whom the Washington Redskins recently traded all their draft picks. I'm sure the Redskins wouldn't be too disappointed to end up with Luck, but the whole thing suggests a more nebulous process than I'm sure either front office is engaged in. They don't just want a superstar prospect quarterback—they want their superstar prospect quarterback.

Look: It could certainly happen. Stranger things have—like when some football analysts wanted the St. Louis Rams to take Jimmy Clausen instead of Sam Bradford. But it probably won't.

More duly skeptical NFL Draft analysis from SB Nation St. Louis:

In slightly more likely news, some are suggesting Matt Kalil might be available to the Rams at No. 6 overall. Implausible though it may seem, the Vikings continue to feign interest in Morris Claiborne and company.
More pragmatic Rams fans are wondering who the Rams will select if Justin Blackmon exits the board early: Michael Floyd or Stephen Hill?
Also: Check out SB Nation St. Louis's ongoing 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

2012 NFL Draft: Trent Richardson Runs A Disappointing 40-Yard Dash At Alabama Pro Day

2012-03-29T16:24:46Z

The St. Louis Rams hold five picks in the top 100 of the 2012 NFL Draft, including the No. 6 overall selection they obtained in a trade with the Washington Redskins, but if head coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead had planned on taking Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson with their first pick, they might have to look past his pro day performance on Thursday. According to SB Nation's NFL draft blog, Mocking The Draft (along with every other major draft outlet), Richardson is the No. 1-rated running back in the 2012 draft class, but he may have cast some doubt on whether he is an elite game-breaker that would justify the selection of a running back at such a high spot.

The Alabama Pro Day was aired live on ESPN3.com, and as ESPN claimed Richardson was only 70 percent healthy, he ran two unofficial 40-yard dash times of 4.58 seconds. If he was not completely healthy, then it's back to the film room for scouts to decide if he has the elite speed that all superstar running backs need to have in the modern NFL. The 40 times won't define his value in the draft, but it makes scouting his top-end speed even harder for teams to approximate now. Richardson had also hoped to dominate in the 225-pound bench drill, but he only put up 25 reps when it was his turn.

NFL Trade Rumors: Browns Looked For Bradford Trade, According To Report

2012-03-28T16:52:13Z

The Cleveland Browns made a strong push for the St. Louis Rams' No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, in all likelihood to select Robert Griffin III, but that reportedly wasn't their first choice of Rams assets. According to Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland, the Browns first inquired about the availability of Rams QB Sam Bradford before moving onto discussions about the draft pick when they were rebuffed.

Browns head coach Pat Shurmur was Bradford's offensive coordinator in Bradford's rookie season, and the Browns might have felt that Bradford was a less risky option than Griffin. But, obviously, the Browns never had a shot at Bradford, and they also missed their chance at landing Griffin, so they'll forge ahead in 2012 with Colt McCoy presumably under center.

2012 NFL Draft Rumors: Jeff Fisher Says Rams, Browns Could Still Be Trade Partners

2012-03-28T13:50:43Z

The St. Louis Rams pulled off one of the biggest trades in NFL Draft history this year when they dealt the rights to the No. 2 overall pick to the Washington Redskins for three first round picks and a second round pick. But, according to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, St. Louis may still not be done dealing.

Fisher said in a press conference on Wednesday morning that Cleveland Browns GM Mike Holmgren's insinuation that the Rams decided to pull the trigger on the deal with the Redskins because of a close relationship with Washington's front office wouldn't preclude the Rams from making a move with the Browns, calling the team a "potential trade partner with us."

Whether or not the Rams are seriously looking to move up from the No. 6 pick remains to be seen, but if so, they do have some extra draft choices to play with. It is thought that the Rams covet Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Justin Blackmon, and that just may spurn another shake up of the draft board.