SB Nation St. Louis - 2012 NFL Draft: St. Louis Rams Trade No. 6 Pick To Dallas

2012 NFL Draft: Rams Sign Outside Linebacker Aaron Brown

2012-06-01T21:19:16Z

The latest St. Louis Rams draft pick to sign on to the roster, OLB Aaron Brown, made little pretense about his feelings concerning the transaction:

Finally signed me deal with the Rams happy as can be!
— Aaron Brown (@ABeastmode) June 1, 2012

Brown played three season with the Hawaii Warriors, playing primarily as a defensive back. He logged a total of 196 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 6 interceptions in his his time with Hawaii. In his final year with the school, Brown collected 103 tackles -- including 13 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks -- and 3 interceptions.

The Rams selected Brown with the second pick of the seventh round, St. Louis' second-to-last pick of 2012 NFL draft.

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: WR Chris Givens Signs Four-Year Deal With The Rams

2012-06-01T20:55:35Z

The St. Louis Rams have locked up one of their young prospects to a four-year deal, according to NBC Sports' ProFootballTalk:

Rams sign WR Chris Givens, the first pick of round four, to a four-year deal, per league source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 1, 2012

The Wake Forest product caught 163 passes for 2473 yards in his collegiate career. Givens largely impressed NFL scouts with his junior year performance, a season in which he caught 83 passes for 1330 yards and 9 touchdowns.

The Rams selected Givens with the first selection of the fourth round, making him the 13th wide receiver selected.

NFL Draft 2012 Results: Did The St. Louis Rams' Trade Make Them Better?

2012-04-27T02:33:14Z

The St. Louis Rams made their second first-round trade of the 2012 NFL Draft on Thursday, swapping their No. 6—from the Washington Redskins—to the Dallas Cowboys, who coveted Morris Claiborne, for the No. 14 pick and the No. 45 in the second round.

They got more picks—but did it make them better? The Rams' eventual draft pick, defensive tackle Michael Brockers, is going to go a long way toward shoring up their run defense, which was among the league's worst—31st in yards allowed, 20th in yards per attempt—but the Rams still have some serious holes to close, starting with the offensive line and Sam Bradford's wide receiver corps.

Really, it's going to come down to Les Snead's second round, which is now three players deep. If the Rams can pick up some starters or rotation players with those choices, all the horse-trading will have been for something. I like his odds, but for now he'll have to hope the players he's targeted now that he's traded down don't go away to some team who traded up.

NFL Draft 2012: Dallas Cowboys Trade St. Louis Rams For Morris Claiborne Pick

2012-04-27T01:34:13Z

The St. Louis Rams continued their trade-filled NFL Draft 2012 season on Thursday, with the Dallas Cowboys trading up to get Morris Claiborne at No. 6. The Rams got No. 14—that's run-stuffing defensive tackle Michael Brockers—and No. 45, their third second-round pick after the initial trade that brought the No. 2, and Robert Griffin III, to the Washington Redskins.

That's not quite Justin Blackmon—who went a little bit too early for the Rams to pounce—but between Brockers, Robert Quinn, and Chris Long they've successfully rebuilt an aging defensive line. I can't argue with the Rams taking the best player available at their new position, and if they make some judicious selections in the second round they could have a rejuvenated team a little sooner than anyone anticipated.

Now it's up to Les Snead: You've gotten yourself all the picks you could want—now do something with them.

For more coverage on the St. Louis Rams' wild 2012 NFL Draft, click through to our storystream.

Rams-Cowboys Trade: St. Louis Trades No. 6 Pick To Dallas For No. 14 And No. 45 Picks

2012-04-27T00:40:11Z

The St. Louis Rams have opted to trade down in the 2012 NFL Draft -- they sent the No. 6 overall pick to Dallas in exchange for the No. 14 overall selection as well as a second round pick (No. 45 overall).

The Cowboys have moved to 6th overall, and the Rams get another pick, this in 2nd round. What a haul on top of RG3 trade
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2012

Now speculation about which player the Rams will take in the first round begins anew.

With the No. 6 pick, Dallas selected Morris Claiborne, a defensive back from Louisiana State.

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.

2012 NFL Mock Draft: Pro Football Talk Projects St. Louis Rams Will Take OL Matt Kalil

2012-04-26T23:30:10Z

The St. Louis Rams have plenty of needs as they head into the 2012 NFL Draft, and that means they could go in several different directions with the No. 6 overall pick. In the latest mock draft from Pro Football Talk, the Rams are projected to go with Matt Kalil, an offensive lineman from the University of Southern California.

The Rams have also been linked on numerous occasions to Oklahoma State wide reciever Justin Blackmon, and there seems to be some possibility that they might decide to trade the pick and move down.

The 2012 NFL Draft is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. CT on Thursday night.

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.

2012 NFL Draft Rumors: St. Louis Rams Interested In Trading Down, According To Report

2012-04-26T23:12:50Z

According to STLToday.com's Jeff Gordon, word out of St. Louis Rams camp is that the team would like to add a draft pick by trading the No. 6 overall pick.

Rams Park scuttlebutt has the Rams eager to add a pick by moving down in the first round. But what will teams offer for the No. 6?
— Jeff Gordon (@gordoszone) April 26, 2012

The Rams have been linked to wide receiver Justin Blackmon by many draft experts, so if they end up sticking at No. 6, he could be one of their more likely selections in that spot. There are other receivers with first round grades -- Kendall Wright and Michael Floyd, for example -- that the Rams could potentially grab should they decide to move down.

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 Mock Draft 2012: The St. Louis Rams' Fletcher Cox Rationale

2012-04-26T21:28:05Z

He can't match up, for St. Louis Rams ubiquity in the average 2012 NFL Mock Draft, to Justin Blackmon, but DT Fletcher Cox, the top interior lineman in the draft, has been a popular choice at No. 6 for several weeks now. Here's why the mock draft favorite would make sense here—why it might happen.

For one thing: The Rams, prior to the 2012 NFL Draft, dumped all their veteran defensive lineman for salary cap reasons. Fred Robbins, an aging star of that surprisingly stout 2010 defense, is out; Scotty Wells is in, for now, but the Rams lack depth and upside inside the defensive ends, where Chris Long and Robert Quinn lurk. If Cox joined those two emerging stars, the Rams would find themselves with an argument for employing the best young defensive line in football.

I'm not sure that's worth passing on a wide receiver who might keep Sam Bradford on his feet through a rough development in a new offense, but it could definitely happen—and the Rams' conscious rebuilding of their defensive line is the reason we can be so sure.