The St. Louis Rams have chosen Justin Blackmon as the No. 6 pick in nearly every 2012 NFL Mock Draft since they traded the No. 2 pick to the Washington Redskins for the first camping-spot in the queue for Robert Griffin III, but their primary nemesis for the Oklahoma State wide receiver has been just as unwavering: The Cleveland Browns, who, at the No. 4 spot, seem set adrift between the untouchables at the top of the draft and the second tier—the players like Morris Claiborne, Trent Richardson, and, well, Blackmon.
In their most recent mock draft, though, WalterFootball.com drops this deadpan bombshell: The Browns won't choose Blackmon because Mike Holmgren doesn't believe in drafting wide receievers so early. This may or may not be true, but it's happened before—in 2001, when Holmgren was The Man in Seattle, the Seahawks chose Koren Robinson, who put together one big season before substance-abuse problems led to his eventual exit from the NFL.
According to the Canton Repository Holmgren doesn't want to "burn" the pick on a wide receiver, but burning the pick on Trent Richardson seems like an equally irresponsible option. Current Justin Blackmon threat level: Green-ish.
Here's more NFL Mock Draft analysis from SB Nation St. Louis, who has recently come off threat level: midnight:
- Todd McShay's new mock draft makes Morris Claiborne a Ram.
- Speaking of players who could be drafted early, will the Rams regret not taking Matt Kalil?
- Or will Jonathan Martin just drop to the Rams in the second round?