Any seasoned 2011 NFL Mock Draft-watcher knows that a ranking that lists players by ability—that seeks to show us the actual Best Player in the Draft—is doomed to bear no resemblance to the actual mock drafts often put out by the same institutions. If it worked out like that, Patrick Peterson would have locked up the No. 1 overall spot six months ago. But even keeping their predictive value in mind, it's worth noting that Julio Jones, whom the St. Louis Rams would like to see all the way over at No. 14, has sneaked into the top 10 of a lot of these lists.
Most recently it happened at SpreeGoogs, where my fellow Mizzou grad ranked Jones ninth in the 2011 NFL Draft class, just ahead of plausible No. 1 Blaine Gabbert.
That's what the Rams are up against: Julio Jones is a skill-player playing a high-profile position who is ranked in the top 10 in terms of overall talent, and he needs to slip to 14. You can understand why the rumors about trading up have gotten slightly louder of late.