This is it, St. Louis Rams fans: This is what we've spent all this time worrying about. The Cleveland Browns finally seem to be aware that for Justin Blackmon to fall to the Rams at No. 6, they have to not pick him at No. 4. And as this Plain-Dealer blog post suggests, once that realization comes he rapidly becomes their best option. If the Browns want to give Colt McCoy another chance—he really was pretty good in 2010, if also pretty not-good in 2011—Blackmon might be the best weapon they can give him to survive another season.
This puts the Rams in a deeply awkward position—in the blog entry's accompanying mock, they pick Morris Claiborne, despite having just signed Cortland Finnegan to an enormous contract. St. Louis's best hope is that the Browns decide they want to emphasize the run and select Trent Richardson. Since that more or less involves hoping that the Browns have made a huge mistake, I'm skeptical of how well it will work, but never bet against an NFL team overvaluing a big running-game name.
More NFL Mock Draft analysis handpicked from SB Nation St. Louis:
- Whether it's the Browns or the Rams picking him to save their young quarterback, Justin Blackmon will have to produce immediately to justify this pick.
- Now might be a good time to wonder just how far Michael Floyd might fall.
- Meanwhile, at the front of the 2012 NFL Draft, what's this about Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck trading places?