NFL Power Rankings 2012: Where Does The Draft Leave Bottom-Dwellers?

The St. Louis Rams began the 2012 NFL Power Rankings preseason already down in the basement, and it looks like even a solid 2012 draft wasn't enough to lift them very far out of it. ESPN's first set of May power rankings sees them stuck at No. 29, between Justin Blackmon and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Brandon Weeden, Trent Richardson, and the Cleveland Browns.

Considering the Rams had the league's worst record last year, that is a prediction of minor improvement. But it can't be what Jeff Fisher, Sam Bradford, and the Rams' newest rookies were hoping to see coming into a season already fraught with stadium concerns.

It's possible to imagine a much-improved Rams team as soon as this year; the problem for power rankings writers looking to predict that is that it's going to entail a complete reformatting and reinstallation of the Rams' offensive and defensive gameplans. It's a big bet to put on Jeff Fisher and company, and it seems like national writers won't be willing to do it until they see him execute it in the regular season. If they do, expect the Rams to move up quickly.

NFL Power Rankings 2012: The St. Louis Rams' Preseason Placement

2012 NFL Power Rankings: St. Louis Rams Already Bringing Up The Rear

Rams fans got a cold hard dose of reality when the first set of 2012 NFL Power Rankings was released this week.

NFL Power Rankings: Wide Gap Between Super Bowl Teams And Rams Heading Into 2012 NFL Draft

SB Nation's final set of NFL Power Rankings for the 2011-12 season has the Giants and Patriots at the top and the St. Louis Rams near the bottom.