Robert Quinn Stories Worry, Inspire, Excite Following 2011 NFL Draft

Being one of the steals of the 2011 NFL Draft would have been enough for the St. Louis Rams when they took Robert Quinn 14th overall, but since then he's made an impression as much for the stories that have come out about him as his talent. There was the agent scandal and the high school brain tumor that loomed large in the immediate aftermath of his pick and complicated the usual NFL Draft grades, and now there's Bryan Burwell's story about Quinn's connection with another athlete, a high schooler who suffered from a malignant brain tumor.

Quinn is one of the strangest players to evaluate in recent memory, and certainly the toughest player to fault for being suspended a year that I can remember. I obviously did not play college football, but it has to be a strange feeling to watch the money pour into your institution while you don't get any of it—to play not because college was one of a number of options you weighed but because what are ostensibly learning institutions have become the NFL's de facto minor leagues. I can blame him for breaking the NCAA's rules, but I can't blame him for thinking the NCAA is a corrupt and frankly creepy institution. 

Quinn's story about his relationship with Lavelle Sloan—and, by extension, about his own tumor—is finally vastly more heartening than the scandal is discouraging. Character-wise, four pillars-wise, I'd rather draft a player who shows this kind of humanity with Quinn's regulatory problems than another player with a clean record. 

St. Louis Rams Wide Receiver Situation In Flux Following 2011 NFL Draft

Mardy Gilyard and Laurent Robinson could be among this year's St. Louis Rams wide receiver casualties after the team selected two in the 2011 NFL Draft, according to Turf Show Times. With Austin Pettis and Greg Salas in the fold, and Donnie Avery and Mark Clayton returning from season-ending injuries, the Rams' receiving corps is likely to look exceedingly different than the one Sam Bradford looked out on at the end of the 2010 season. Which is a good thing. Laurent Robinson is one receiver Rams fans won't miss, but in addition to him they could also find themselves without Gilyard, a fourth-round pick in 2010, or Brandon Gibson, who finished second on the team in receiving yards last season. 

The only player from last year's squad certain to return in 2010 is Danny Amendola, who caught 85 balls as the only constant in the Rams' receiving last season. Danario Alexander, who was outstanding on the few occasions he was healthy in his rookie season, is likely to get a roster spot if he's ambulatory. But Gibson's skills duplicate the two draft picks, and Gilyard's inability to learn last year's playbook has left him buried on the depth chart, and if he wants to return to the surface he'll have to start digging now. 

Undrafted Free Agent Signings: St. Louis Rams In NFL Lockout Limbo

The St. Louis Rams' two most-effective wide receivers in 2010, faint though that praise might be, were undrafted free agent signings. Danario Alexander's knee made him damaged goods when NFL Draft picks would normally have been lined up at his beck and call; Danny Amendola was exactly the kind of player who does not get drafted and eventually sticks with a team like the Rams. But the NFL Lockout has delayed the college free agent season, leaving that class of player in the lurch until the players and owners can come to some kind of agreement. 

At National Football Post Jack Bechta argues that the lockout might actually be an advantage for 2011's undrafted free agent signings. They'll come into the situation with more knowledge, and with teams that have had more time to assess their own needs for the coming season. That might lead to fewer early cuts for the players unlucky enough to miss being Mr. Irrelevant, and some more reasonable expectations for production from those same players for the teams. 

2011 NFL Draft: Saints Like Running Backs, Al Davis Likes Brains

At the eerily consistent Turf Show Times, a 2011 NFL Draft recap in the form of statements made, ostensibly, by each team. For instance: The New Orleans Saints explaining their love for "runnin backs don hyah" in a startlingly perfect dialect that sings the virtues of ol Reggie, Chris Ibory, and, you guessed it, Mike Bell. A statement from the Oakland Raiders on—well, on Al Davis eating brains. The Rams intone on Josh McDaniels's extremely aggressive, extremely idiosyncratic plans for his newly expanded litter of flawed pass-catchers.

That's what I enjoyed about the Rams' draft, if nothing else: The Lance Kendricks, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas run made a clear statement—to the effect that Josh McDaniels has his ideas about offense, and the Rams are, at least this year, ready to accede to them entirely. Sometimes that doesn't work perfectly—were teams really clamoring for Lance Kendricks?—but after a year of watching the permanently indecisive, tentative Pat Shurmur offense I like the team's new-found single-mindedness.

I hope, even, that it extends to when they're allowed to practice...

NFL Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams Sought Mikel Leshoure In Draft Trade

Okay, we've graded the practical part of the St. Louis Rams' performance in the 2011 NFL Draft, now it's time for the theoretical NFL Draft grades to be handed out: What would you have given the Rams if they'd traded up for Mikel Leshoure in the second round? With Billy Devaney suggesting the Rams had attempted to trade up for a running back, TST has connected the dots and suggested that was the trade they were most likely to make. 

I wasn't a big fan of the Lance Kendricks pick in the second round, so I can't say I would have complained about Leshoure, who would give the Rams a plausible reason to limit Steven Jackson's carries to a level unlikely to rattle his pieces loose. But if the amount of trading chits necessary was enough to scare Devaney off, I can't imagine it would be worthwhile in the long run to trade up for him. 

So for holding to their principle of actually drafting players with their picks—a valid one given the number of holes they needed to fill—I've got to hold the Rams' grade steady. Leshoure's an exciting player, but so are the players they actually drafted. 

2011 Undrafted Free Agent Signings: Rams Could Look Running Back

The 2011 NFL Draft is over, and Steven Jackson is still pegged to get the vast majority of rushing opportunities in the St. Louis Rams' offense. Whether that's by the design or the result of the Rams' thinking on the running back as a position or the individual players available is anybody's guess, but with college free agents lining up to be picked there remain some options for St. Louis once free agency actually opens up. 

Turf Show Times offers a list of possible running backs, including Graig Cooper, Derrick Locke, and Noel Devine. Kenneth Darby, the primary backup in 2010, was a seventh-rounder in the 2007 NFL Draft, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers project; Keith Toston, the only other running back to pick up at least 10 carried in 2010, was undrafted out of Oklahoma.

Those aren't, perhaps, the most sparkling endorsements for running back bargain-hunting, but there's always Willie Parker and Priest Holmes—and Lawrence Philips, perhaps—on the other side of the ledger. Nobody the Rams sign off the street is likely to take over for Steven Jackson someday, but he might take up some slack for Jackson in 2011. 

NFL Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams Add Red Zone Targets

One of the most frustrating things about watching the St. Louis Rams in 2010 was seeing just what they'd in the red zone and near a first down, where the offensive line seemed to spontaneously combust around Steven Jackson and the defensive backs would descend on Danny Amendola, the only guy around with decent hands. The Rams definitely attempted to address that in the 2011 NFL Draft three times, and their NFL Draft grades will mostly reflect how well that worked. TST has a great look at this, offering the logic on the picks without necessarily making a judgment. 

This could mean good things for Sam Bradford's touchdown totals, if not his yards-per-attempt totals; none of these receivers are going to free themselves up downfield or outrun a cornerback into the open field, but that's not their job. (Hopefully, come training camp Donnie Avery realizes it's his job.) 

The Rams come into this season with a lot of offensive uncertainty still on the books, but the same would be true if they'd gotten Julio Jones—in this case it's just been diffused into more players with a chance to impress or disappoint. 

NFL Draft Grades: Julio Jones's Price Too High For St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams were connected to Julio Jones for most of the 2011 NFL Draft seasons, but as NFL Draft grades come out it's become clear that not everyone is happy that the Atlanta Falcons swooped in and actually drafted him. The Falcons not only raided this year's top draft picks, they did it next year, too—that's a bet on Julio Jones paying immediate dividends, in such a way that the Falcons won't be able to draft his equivalent in 2012. 

So if I were to grade the Rams' actual draft—Robert Quinn, Lance Kendricks, some 2012 picks—compared to the Julio Jones shadow-draft, I'd have to give the real Rams the benefit of the doubt here. Robert Quinn isn't going to put points on the board, but he'll help stabilize a defense that was often left on the field just a little too much to hold the offense's meager leads. 

Jones would have been great, but Quinn is great, and he came at no cost to the Rams' future draft picks. This kind of pick might have made sense for the Falcons, close as they are to a Super Bowl of their own, but I can't give it much more than a C+—it's a very risky bet. 

NFL Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams Draft Average, Per USA Today

NFL Draft grades are coming in from across the internet, and USA Today offers the latest, giving the St. Louis Rams what's become an increasingly customary B- for their 2011 NFL Draft. Robert Quinn has been lauded as a great pick by all parties concerned, but I think draft critics are struggling to decide what to make of the rest of the Rams' draft, which seemed to address the team's wide receiver needs by quantity rather than quality. 

I think a full reckoning of this draft won't be possible until we see just what Josh McDaniels's Rams offense looks like. The dual tight end system the Rams plan to implement could mean big touchdown numbers for Lance Kendricks and Michael Hoomanawanui, and it'll take at least a year for the Rams to sift through what is now a pretty large pile of interesting-but-flawed wide receivers—Austin Pettis and Greg Salas, along with Donnie Avery, Danario Alexander, Danny Amendola, and Brandon Gibson. 

After that the grade might go up—because right now the Rams seem to have earned a B- just for the incredible luck of being able to choose Robert Quinn. 

NFL Draft Grades: Robert Quinn One Of The Best Value Picks Around

The St. Louis Rams clearly picked for positional need through the middle of the 2011 NFL Draft, overdrafting a tight end in the second and grabbing two wide receivers in the third and fourth, so it says something about the strength of first-rounder Robert Quinn that Fox Sports’s NFL Draft Grades managed to give the Rams a B because of their “drafting for value”. Unless Adam Caplan really does think Kendricks was the best player available.

It’s hard to give the Rams credit for just taking a player who happened to be available, but that hasn’t stopped the Detroit Lions from accepting all the praise in the NFL Draft world for selecting Nick Fairley at No. 13. Quinn fell to the Rams for a number of different reasons, but whatever those reasons are they managed to make the right choice. And their defense is a lot more intimidating as a result.

Fox Sports’s final draft grade, a B, seems appropriate. This isn’t a knockout draft, but they got a great value pick in the first round and showed Josh McDaniels’s hand in the second and third, and that’s enough for me.

Mel Kiper's 2011 Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams Score High On Needs Side

Mel Kiper's 2011 draft grades are out, and with a twist—they're split into two parts. And the St. Louis Rams managed to score an A- in the one that's less impressive. So there's that! The Rams' draft, headlined by Robert Quinn, scores an A- in terms of filling the team's needs, perhaps because there were so many, but only a B- in terms of value, thanks perhaps to the overdraft vibe coming off tight end Lance Kendricks, selected in the second round. 

Their B score puts them in the middle of the pack, but on the high end of the middle, and tops among the NFC West squads. The Arizona Cardinals got a C on needs and an A- on value, which makes sense—it was clear from the beginning that they had no intention of drafting based on perceived needs, and they hit their own internal targets by grabbing players like Patrick Peterson. 

The San Francisco 49ers went the other direction, and didn't do as well at it—earning a B for needs and a C for value, as Mel Kiper considers Colin Kaepernick a reach. The Seattle Seahawks finished dead last, reaching for players like James Carpenter and not filling their needs, particularly at quarterback, anyway. 

These grades are premature, of course—it's a little like being handed your report card on seat-assignment day—but I can't blame Mel Kiper for wanting to get as much limelight time as possible before he's sent back into forced hibernation for the next 10 months. 

NFL Draft 2011: Patriots Trade Eagles For Fun To Be Had Later

The seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft is a low-impact place, like a Wikipedia sandbox, or just a real sandbox. Time slows down; news travels as through molasses, or a late-period Smashing Pumpkins album. When the things you do have no discernable effect on the world around you your actions can get a little loopy—like, padded-wall loopy. That's the only explanation for the trade the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles made in the seventh round over the weekend, which saw the Patriots kick the Eagles the 193rd pick in exchange for... the 194th pick. 

As a St. Louis Rams fan it should be clear to everyone concerned that i consider the New England Patriots the least-fun team in the world. The Eagles are slightly more fun, since they've given us the opportunity to turn Michael Vick jokes into our very own tribute to Norm MacDonald's coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, but still not especially thrilling. 

That said—I can find no fault with this deal, which was announced near the very front of the last day of picks. Well done, Patriots and Eagles; you've made the 193rd and 194th picks a million percent more interesting than they were in 2010. 

2011 NFL Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams' Third Day Adds Depth Behind D-Line

The 2011 NFL Draft opened for the St. Louis Rams with a major acquisition to bookend the defensive line when Robert Quinn slipped to the No. 14 overall pick, and continued through day two with picks—Lance Kendricks and Austin Pettis—designed to improve Sam Bradford's receiving corps, quantitatively if not qualitatively. Day three was, as is customary in our culture, a case of depth diving, and NFL Draft grades are harder to give out when you can't peg the player or the strategy. Nevertheless we press on. 

In the fourth round the Rams selected Greg Salas, their third pass-catcher of the draft and another case of polish over tools. He's got great hands in the middle of the field but unimpressive size or speed. TST thought it strange that the Rams went with another wide receiver given the grab bag already in place and the gap at running back, and I have to agree—between Salas, Austin Pettis, and Mardy Gilyard the Rams now have three wide receivers with almost no experience to sift through, not to mention the returning Donnie Avery. 

In the fifth round the Rams picked up a safety, Jermale Hines, who will be part of their quantity-over-quality effort to replace O.J. Atogwe. Finally, with their three seventh-round picks the Rams drafted players who will do some work on the special teams, which makes sense. 

The Salas pick is kind of strange, but it's the third day—it's hard to know, from this position, exactly what the Rams' plans are. Pending further assignments, I'm handing out a C+ here. 

2012 NFL Mock Draft: St. Louis Rams Take Michael Floyd In Unbelievably Premature Mock

SB Nation is not one to do things halfway. With 2011 NFL Draft coverage finally winding down, at least for a moment, they decided to take the next step and release their first 2012 NFL Mock Draft Saturday. The bad news: The San Francisco 49ers are tabbed to select Andrew Luck, the second coming of Andrew Luck. The good news: The St. Louis Rams are tabbed to make the playoffs and pick Michael Floyd, a popular selection at the beginning of 2011 NFL Mock Draft season. 

Obviously stuff like this is absurd a full year from draft day, but there's something strangely satisfying about it. Floyd would be a great fit for the Rams, who will have a full year to decide which of their selection of slightly dented and remaindered wide receivers should stick around just in time to select the No. 1 they couldn't get their hands on last year. And they'd make the playoffs!

One question, though: Is it possible for the Rams to select Julio Jones this year? 

2011 NFL Draft Grades: Austin Pettis A New Direction For Desperate Rams

For the St. Louis Rams, Austin Pettis's selection in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft is a chance to start over—to wipe the NFL Draft grades at wide receiver clean. Last year's middle-round gamble didn't pay off; Mardy Gilyard, a dynamic playmaker at Cincinnati, struggled to learn the playbook and disappeared with the Rams, even after injuries decimated the team's wide receiving corps, and nobody's quite sure where his future lies, even with a new playbook to learn or not learn. 

Pettis is a big target with average speed who caught 39 touchdowns in four years at Boise State. He's not going to appear on highlight reels for his work in the open field, but he's more likely than Gilyard, at this juncture, to actually get on the field.

Last year Sam Bradford's only consistent targets were short-yardage specialist Danny Amendola and the tight end flavor of the week. If Pettis gets up to speed faster than Gilyard he could give Bradford a slightly deeper option to trust, and a red zone target to acquire. That's worth a tentative B according to my rubric, especially if it means fewer bullets behind the line of scrimmage in Josh McDaniels's new offense. 

NFL Draft Grades: Did The St. Louis Rams Reach On Lance Kendricks?

Lance Kendricks is a great fit for the dual-tight end system new Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels is installing for the St. Louis Rams, and that system is a great fit for the personnel the Rams have, given their continued lack of a number-one wide receiver for Sam Bradford. But NFL Draft grades aren't given without context, and it's uncertain given the way the draft's gone so far—and the way the Rams are currently set up—that Kendricks was necessarily a second-round pick or the next piece of the offensive puzzle.

For the Rams: What happened to the two tight ends the Rams drafted last year? Michael Hoomanawanui showed a surprisingly deft after-the-catch touch and proved to be one of Bradford's favorite targets when high-ankle sprains weren't keeping him off the field. And Fendi Onobun, one of the most physically gifted players on the Rams' roster—a tall, fast former basketball star new to the sport—is finally healthy after spending almost all of last season on injured reserve. Hoomanawanui is likely to start alongside Kendricks, but have the Rams given up on Onobun already? (Not to mention Daniel Fells, whom they seemed interested in retaining earlier in the offseason.)

Meanwhile—given the Rams' numerous problems, did it make sense to overdraft a tight end based on a perceived need when the Rams could have gone in so many other directions by just drafting one of the best players available? I'm not sure Kendricks is enough of a near-term upgrade on Fells or a long-term upgrade on Onobun to justify putting off upgrades to the team's defense for the later rounds.

Kendricks could emerge quickly as an important Bradford target, but it'll be hard to separate his impact from Josh McDaniels's. With a lot of questions still unanswered, this pick tops out at a <strong>low C</strong>. 

NFL Draft Grades: St. Louis Rams Earn High Marks For Robert Quinn Pick

The St. Louis Rams were beneficiaries of a surprisingly early run on quarterbacks and a massive class of defensive ends and tackles, but NFL Draft grades don’t operate on a curve, and the Rams are earning major plaudits for their selection of Robert Quinn with the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Quinn is a great example of a player falling in the draft for reasons that are often difficult to connect to his future productivity as an NFL player. He’s an outstanding pass rusher and a great physical talent who fell to No. 14 not because of his skills but because a garden-variety shady transaction with an agent caused him to forfeit his remaining NCAA eligibility. Shady transactions are symptomatic as much of a corrupt and outmoded NCAA structure as they are Robert Quinn; it’s difficult to say that accepting money for football stardom makes Quinn unique among his NFL Draft peers.

As for his benign brain tumor, it comes down to how much trust you can put in the St. Louis Rams doctors who cleared him. I’m not a doctor; I have no reason to doubt their prowess, and while a brain tumor is certainly a terrifying thing, it’s something that has to be treated, on football terms, like any other potential injury problem. Right now there’s no indication that Quinn’s brain is anywhere near as bad, for instance, as Danario Alexander’s knee.

No pick is a sure thing, but the Rams managed to get themselves a potential Pro Bowler, a Top Five talent, in the middle of the first round. That’s a major coup, and, for SB Nation St. Louis, a solid A.

2011 NFL Draft Picks: St. Louis Rams Take Wide Receiver In Third

The St. Louis Rams didn't get Julio Jones, but in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft they finally did take a wide receiver, Austin Pettis of Boise State. Pettit is a big, polished, technically proficient wide receiver regarded best for his great hands. He's not a burner or a number-one, but after a few years of watching Laurent Robinson drop passes he should be a major relief to Rams fans looking for a more fully-featured complement to similarly surehanded Danny Amendola. 

With Lance Kendrick drafted in the second round the Rams have added two interesting pieces to their receiving contingent in 2011, although it still lacks the big marquee threat Rams fans and Sam Bradford might have been hoping for. 

One thing's for sure: The Rams know what they're getting with Pettis, who's starred for Boise State all four years and won't take much coaching to get up to speed in the Rams' new offense. He doesn't offer as much dreamability as Mardy Gilyard, but he's much less likely to disappear in 2011's second half. 

St. Louis Rams Draft Picks: Lance Kendricks A Josh McDaniels Special

The St. Louis Rams' second pick of the 2011 NFL Draft was a surprise to fans who thought the team was set at tight end, but for an offense run by Josh McDaniels there's no such thing as too many tight ends; Lance Kendricks, a specialist who behaves at times more like a wide receiver than a tight end, is a perfect fit for McDaniels's system, if still a tight fit for the Rams' roster.

Prior to the Kendricks pick, when the Rams were being tied to Kyle Rudolph, the Rams had three tight ends likely to compete for playing time in the 2011 season—second-year pass-catcher Michael Hoomanawanui, who made some excellent plays for the Rams when he wasn't dealing with a pair of high-ankle sprains; Daniel Fells, a veteran who served while Hoomanawanui was out as Bradford's pressure-relief valve; and Fendi Onobun, the 6'6" basketball star with outstanding physical skills who the Rams drafted in 2010 in spite of his obvious rawness.

Most analysts consider this proof that McDaniels's two-tight-end sets will show up in St. Louis, and if that's the case Kendricks and Hoomanawanui could be a dangerous combination for Sam Bradford to utilize, and not just in traditional tight end roles. 

2011 NFL Draft Picks: Lance Kendricks A New Receiving Option For St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams did end up going for a receiver for Sam Bradford in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, but not a wide receiver—the Rams have selected tight end Lance Kendricks of Wisconsin with the 47th overall pick in the draft. Kendricks is the third tight end the Rams have drafted in two years, joining Michael Hoomanawanui of Illinois and raw project-pick Fendi Onobun. Kendricks is a pass-catching specialist who should become one of Sam Bradford’s favorite targets in the mid-range passing game to which Bradford might finally not be tethered.

As a senior with Wisconsin Kendricks caught 43 balls for 663 yards and five touchdowns, all career high. It was only his second year as a major weapon for the Badgers; in 2009 he caught 29 passes for 356 yards and three touchdowns.

The Rams’ tight end situation looked pretty full already, but it appears that Josh McDaniels is already making his presence felt as St. Louis’s new offensive czar. It’ll be interesting to see what he has planned for Kendricks.

For a full recap of the 2011 NFL Draft to date, follow along here at SB Nation St. Louis, and for more draft coverage check out SB Nation’s NFL Draft hub.

NFL Draft 2011: Robert Quinn Is Out To Prove A Bunch Of People Wrong

2011 NFL Draft pick Robert Quinn didn't play football in 2010 and knows what you're thinking... what happened to the four pillars? He's out to prove that the St. Louis Rams didn't just draft a player, they got a serious leader.

St. Louis Rams Draft Picks: Robert Quinn Grades High In Early Analysis

The St. Louis Rams' first pick of the 2011 NFL Draft was a surprise—and a pleasant one, if the early returns on Rams fans' responses to Robert Quinn's selection are any indication. Turf Show TImes describes the UNC defensive end as "a steal", a top-five talent with quickness and explosiveness, and after nearly 700 votes 80% of TST readers consider Quinn an A pick.

Mocking The Draft went even further, suggesting that, if he had been eligible to play in 2011, he could have elevated himself into becoming the No. 1 selection in the draft.

The Post-Dispatch is slightly more reserved in their quick capsule on Quinn, but realistically so—they note that at least at the start of 2012 he's most likely to see action strictly as a pass-rushing specialist, where he might already be a dominant force.

As for the official SB Nation St. Louis ruling, this is an outstanding pick, and the Rams should thank the Tennessee Titans in particular for selecting Jake Locker and initiating the series of picks that saw Robert Quinn and Nick Fairley slide toward the middle of the first round.

Robert Quinn's Brain Tumor And Other Incredible Stories

There are a lot of incredible stories in the 2011 NFL Draft—26-year-old ex-firefighter Danny Watkins is one of them—but St. Louis Rams first-round pick Robert Quinn might be the most incredible. Two things kept Quinn from being one of the top two or three picks in this year's draft. One was a year of ineligibility handed down by the NCAA after he accepted gifts from an agent; the other is that he has had a benign brain tumor since high school, one that kept a few NFL medical staffs from clearing him as a possible draft pick and that might have helped him fall to the Rams at 14 in the first place. 

Quinn has to have the tumor checked every six months to make sure nothing changes, but in the meantime the Rams staff has cleared him to play. It's a scary situation, but it's not an especially uncommon one if you look at it from a strictly football standpoint. Every player is at risk of a career-ending injury, and some more than others. The Rams take on a miniscule amount of extra risk in selecting Quinn, but it's likely no more than the Atlanta Falcons took on by picking Julio Jones, with his history of football-related injuries. 

2011 NFL Draft: Why The St. Louis Rams Picked Robert Quinn

Robert Quinn wasn’t expected to be around by the time the St. Louis Rams made the 14th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, but once they had the chance it was a no-doubter: The Rams had to pick Robert Quinn. Perhaps the best pass-rusher in the draft, Quinn might have been a top-five pick back in 2010 if he and his UNC cohort hadn’t been caught in a scandal involving an agent and the usual NCAA sleaze. The Rams trusted his character enough to fit him into Steve Spagnuolo’s Four Pillars scheme; why should you trust him to fit into the Rams’ defense?

The easy answer: Quinn, just 21 years old next month, is already a constant danger to quarterbacks from the right end. Nobody questions his drive or his talent, which is rare in the kind of player you can get in the middle of the first round, and in 2009 he put together some highlight tackles as a sophomore.

Quinn didn’t play last year, but he’s kept in shape, as evidence from his excellent draft-season performance in workouts. He’s got flaws, but they’re the kind of flaws that make a top-five player available at 14. Get excited.

2011 NFL Draft: Robert Quinn A Defensive Weapon For St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams weren’t expected to get the chance to take Robert Quinn, long considered one of the top defensive ends in the 2011 NFL Draft, but the run on quarterbacks initiated by the Tennessee Titans’ surprise selection of Jake Locker caused players like Quinn and Nick Fairley to leak into the middle of the first round. The Rams don’t have a wide receiver for Sam Bradford, but they do have one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the draft to line up alongside Chris Long.

Turf Show Times calls the Robert Quinn pick a home run, suggesting that the Rams’ problems with getting to quarterbacks were one of their major defensive flaws in 2010. The rough quarterback situations in the NFC West just got considerably rougher for the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams might have had a more pressing need at defensive tackle, where Corey Liuget had become a popular mock draft option, but when a guy like Robert Quinn—considered one of the top five players in the 2010 NFL Draft before being declared ineligible—falls to No. 14, you have to draft him while you can.

2011 NFL Draft: St. Louis Rams Select Robert Quinn 14th Overall

Robert Quinn didn't play at all in 2010, but in 2011 he'll be the newest member of the St. Louis Rams' defense, the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Quinn, a dominant pass-rusher who had 11 sacks as a sophomore in 2009, was ineligible for the 2010 NCAA football season after a scandal-soaked UNC team was investigated for improper connections with pro agents, but his body of work in 2009 was enough to convince the Rams of his worth. 

The St. Louis Rams and their fans might have hoped to address Sam Bradford's dearth of wide receiver options in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, but Julio Jones went sixth overall, in a spectacular and unexpected trade that saw the Atlanta Falcons pick their drafts clean for the next two seasons to get Matt Ryan a rookie weapon. 

As Sam Bradford sobs softly into his helmet and Danario Alexander tries his hardest to make both his knees work at the same time, the Rams get a player who some considered the most dangerous defensive star in the draft. He'll harrass opposing quarterbacks across from Chris Long.