Most 2012 NFL Mock Draft experts are wisely not looking to draft for mock-need—in most cases teams should take the best player available, especially with the No. 6 pick in the draft. But as St. Louis Rams pundits it is worth guessing where presumptive pick Justin Blackmon would fit within the Rams' offense.
Not that it's difficult, only that it's worthwhile... the Rams have two playmakers in their offense who, at their best, are capable of doing some of the things Justin Blackmon can do. Steven Jackson needs no introduction, but he does need some capable teammates; Danario Alexander, for his part, needs to working knees.
And the Rams simply need Justin Blackmon. They don't have anybody like him, and in free agency and through trades they've proved unable to come up with any reasonable alternatives. I'm against drafting for need, as a rule, but at No. 6—unlike No. 2 earlier this month—it seems that Blackmon is both a need and the best player available. It's a nice trick, and it might be the whole key to the Rams' big Robert Griffin III trade.
More Mock Draft coverage from the mock-mock-drafters at SB Nation St. Louis:
- If the Rams have to draft Michael Floyd instead of Justin Blackmon, you could probably just do a find-and-replace. And an enthusiasm-and-a-little-less-enthusiam. (That's in the new Word.)
- You'd probably have to blame the Cleveland Browns for any Blackmon subterfuge.
- But SB Nation's latest mock draft has Blackmon back in Rams range.