2011 NFL Mock Draft watchers who also are big fans of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports-pagers take note: their football-centric watercooler configuration likes Julio Jones as Sam Bradford's savior and the Rams' No. 1 pick, if only he's around at 14th overall. Things they like: His competitiveness; his size; his blocking; his speed; his mere presence; the way he looks at you, no, really looks at you when you talk, like, he knows, and he's listening; the way their first name sounds next to his last name.
I can't blame them for their gushing, since I feel the same way. It's an awkward position to be in, as fans: We know exactly who the Rams should pick in the 2011 NFL Real Draft, but we know that since January it's been increasingly difficult to see a scenario in which he falls all the way to the Rams. Julio Jones is a potential No. 1 receiver. Unfortunately, teams who did worse than the Rams are into that sort of thing.