What makes Matt Kalil such a boring NFL Mock Draft choice for the St. Louis Rams in 2012 is that we as a fan base have already seen what could happen if Sam Bradford had a good, young, highly drafted offensive line protecting him from the constant brutalities of 2011—all the way back in 2010.
Back then Jason Smith wasn’t quite a super-bust—so there was your second-overall-pick OT—and Rodger Saffold had arrived immediately, seemingly as fully formed and polished as, oh, Sam Bradford.
And the Rams were—well, the lucked into being Pretty Okay, on account of the defense being as good as it was supposed to be from the moment Steve Spagnuolo arrived. Justin Blackmon or a flashier pick wouldn’t make the Rams any better than Kalil will, but we haven’t seen them go 7-9 with a No. 2 wide receiver yet. Sometimes, mock drafters, that’s all it takes for one player to top another and become a hero of St. Louis blogs the world over.
That and the prospect of another year with Mike Sims-Walker and Danny Amendola competing for the number-one-receiver job.