The St. Louis Rams have been linked to Oklahoma St. Cowboys wide receiver Justin Blackmon at the top of the 2012 NFL Draft with their No. 6 overall pick, and Peter King of Sports Illustrated thinks the Rams should (and will) select Blackmon in his latest mock, but Greg Cosell of NFL Films has found some cause for concern about that pick in film study. Cosell compared Blackmon to Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd for the sake of argument, and he came away thinking Floyd has a better chance to "line up outside and win one-on-one" against NFL cornerbacks. Here's what he didn't like about Blackmon:
Peter King's Full 2012 NFL Mock Draft On Sports Illustrated
I had a number of concerns the more tape I studied, and this is where the transition to the NFL becomes interesting. Blackmon did not consistently explode out of his breaks at the intermediate level. That was the result of a tendency to run too upright on his vertical stem. That can certainly be coached, and it's always important to remember that no player entering the NFL is a finished product. One thing I'm not sure can be coached, though, is Blackmon's lack of vertical explosiveness. He did not show a second gear on tape. He was a measured, methodical, one-speed receiver.
Does Rams GM Les Snead agree? Will the team trade down in the trade to acquire additional picks and maybe get a shot at landing Floyd along with another solid prospect? The draft is rapidly approaching, but the answers on who is the better player are still years away. Welcome to the NFL Draft.
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