FanPost

Planning for the future.

Let me first start out by saying that I am Pro-Clowney and Pro-Bradford.

First things first, we need to hope Clowney doesn't go #1 overall. I know that seems unlikely, but I worry about Houston pulling the rug out from under us or a desperate team trading over our heads to draft Clowney at 1. If he falls to us at 2 then that gives us all the ammunition we need to hear everyone's offers.

Here is where i'm going to present my two scenarios.

1. We draft Jadeveon Clowney.... *booo hissssss boooo you're crazy!* oh my gosh! We pulled the trigger on the best talent in the draft! *we already have awesome DEs* Well you'd be right, but if you think that ALL of our DEs (individually, of course) can outplay Clowney, then and ONLY then would I consider that to be a valid argument for not drafting him. In my opinion, in our division where some of the best defenses in the NFL reside, we shouldn't pass up on such a defensive force. Could he be a bust? Sure. Could he be a Hall of Famer? Could be.. But as we learned from Seattle less than 3 weeks ago, defense can win you Championships. If you think Greg Williams wouldn't be able to find a way to use Clowney and all of our weapons to the fullest extent, then we may be doomed already.

Now I've seen the argument thrown around here a lot that we need to score points to win! *captain obvious flies off into the sunset* The only other picks I see us considering with our high-end first round pick are Sammy Watkins and Greg Robinson, and rightly so because they are 'plug and play' players, most likely gone in the top 10. Both of these picks would help out Sam Bradford, and take pressure off of our run game. I think the biggest surprise to all of us would be to see Snisher use our first pick on an O-Lineman. History says that wont happen, and I'm inclined to agree. As for Watkins, here's where I might ruffle some feathers. I don't think we need him. And by him, I mean Sammy Watkins, we ARE still in need of a Number 1 WR. I'm not convinced he's the No. 1 we're looking for. Coming into OUR division at only 6'1, I'm not convinced he can be the difference maker that everyone is thinking he will be. I think he fits another team better where he can help out in the return game as well. Seeing as how we just drafted Tavon Austin to do just that, I don't think he would be a good fit on our team. Nor would he be able to be an immediate threat against the bigger corners in our division. He is definitely an all purpose yards kind of player, I don't think that's what we need. We need height. Jared Cook , standing at 6'5, led the Rams in receiving touchdowns last year with 5. Now, to me, 5 isn't that many. But he was a BIG target to throw to and that's why I think he scored the most, plain and simple. Our tallest receivers stand at 6'3. We need more height. We have the speed, we need the height and large bodies. Muscle and finesse in the passing game and a nasty rumblin run game.

Sidenote: With Zac Stacy getting a full season under his belt, I foresee teams having to respect our run game that much more, taking pressure off Bradford. I look for him to be neck n' neck with Eddie Lacy and Le'veon Bell, if not more productive.

Kind of got off the Clowney topic but I had to get that all out of my head. The combine is right around the corner and I really hope to see some tall, big bodied receivers close the gap on Watkins.

SCENARIO NUMBER 2!! If you've made it this far into my ramblings you have my most sincere thanks and apologies.

Scenario #2 is... we give up #2.... Hehe see how I worked that in there? BUT, what I want is 2015 First Rounders!! Cleveland is the only team able to give us two 1st Rounders this year and it seems likely that they might be our trading partners. I don't want the 4th pick for reasons above^^. If we got the 4th pick, I'd want to trade down again further. Which wouldn't end up being so bad as we could address more needs. Alternatively to that, I would rather trade with someone who is willing to give up their 2015 1st Round pick and i'll tell you why. Insurance and Mystery. I don't think anyone expected the Redskins to do as terribly as they did this past season, but if we wrangle a 2015 from a team, we have the potential to encounter the same situation in 2015. And from an insurance point of view, I come back to Bradford :( As much as I hate to say it, this could be Bradford's last season on the Rams. It's make or break time and he is going to be fighting an uphill battle coming back from injury. If we acquire a 2015 1st rounder coupled with our entitled 2015 1st, we could easily make a play at Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston. I surely believe that we will draft a backup QB this year. But if we really wanted to go after said QBs in 2015, we could use both Bradford and/or the backup in trades to acquire picks. I see the Bills, Jets, and Titans as teams that may give up on their QB's by next year. It hurts me to think that way but the Rams need a QB that can take us to the Superbowl.

EndofRant.

It seems like everyone agrees that Calvin Pryor is a safe pick to make at 13. I'm all for that. If we are able to trade out of the #2 pick with good value I'd like to see us take Pryor and the top CB in the 1st round. We could have a better idea of who that will be in a few days. If we don't take Clowney i'd like to see us bolster the D-backs with the best available and address the O-line in the second with accumulated picks.

Again, I'm sorry if this is all just mumbojumbo at this point. I'm trying to watch the Olympics (USA!!!) while writing this. Parting questions to leave you with. Are you all really set on Watkins without any hesitations? And if we were to try for a QB in 2015, which would you rather see in blue and gold?

Sorry if my post is crap, you guys rock! Go Rams!