The St. Louis Rams are one of four NFL teams that have yet to sign any of their rookies. Expect that to change soon. General manager Les Snead told CBS Sports that the team expects to start talks after the holiday weekend and have the deals all done when minicamp wraps up in the middle of June.

Negotiations are on hold in order to let the rookies adjust to the transition, which seems like a strange reason. Either way, it doesn't really matter. Rookie salaries are on a convenient slotting system under the new collective bargaining agreement. The numbers are pretty well set, and negotiations are pretty straight forward.

Michael Brockers, the Rams 1st-round pick, should get a four-year worth close to $10 million. Seattle's 1st-round pick, Bruce Irvin (still scratching your head on that one, huh?), got a deal worth $9.34 million with a $5 million bonus.

To give you an idea of how much the rookie salaries have changed under the new CBA, take a look at the five-year deal Seattle gave Earl Thomas, the 14th pick in the 2010 draft. Thomas' deal was worth $21.1 million with $12.32 million guaranteed. Cam Newton, last year's first pick, got a $22 million deal. Things have changed, huh?

The biggest difference is negotiating whether or not the fourth year of the deal will be guaranteed.

The St. Louis Rams' 2012 draft class received mixed reviews from various places. Any analysis of draft picks after a handful of practices without pads leaves a little to be desired, but it is a fair subject for discussion. This week, Cold Hard Football Facts rolls out with one of the more negative criticisms of the Rams' draft class I've seen, calling it "drifting and directionless."

They give the collection of 10 picks a 'D' grade. Why? Their take is the exact opposite of what Rams GM Les Snead said about the team's draft strategy recently.

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The St. Louis Rams added another undrafted rookie free agent on Wednesday morning. Coastal Carolina tight end Jamie Childers signed a three-year deal with the team, forgoing tryouts with the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers, according to CarolinaLive.com.

A high school quarterback, Childers converted to tight end as a junior, rather than limiting himself to a backup quarterback job. The 6'4" 246-pound tight end caught the eye of NFL scouts at his pro day this spring, and there were plenty of scouts on hand to see cornerback Josh Norman, who was the main event that day.

Childers ran a 4.69 40-yard dash at his pro day, along with 24 reps on the bench and a 1.66 second 10-yard split. His vertical leap of 36" would have tied him for the best mark among tight ends at the Combine this year.

This signing brings the Rams' total UDFA tight end count to three. Childers joins Cory Harkey of UCLA and DeAngelo Peterson of LSU as the undrafted players competing for a spot on the roster.

They may have a tough battle. Lance Kendricks is the favorite for the starting tight end role. The Rams signed former Jet Matthew Mulligan in March to be their blocking specialist. Michael Hoomanawanui, who has dealt with injuries for most of his two seasons in St. Louis, could be fighting for a roster spot in training camp. Ben Guidugli, a carry over from last year's practice squad, will also be in the mix.

The official list of UDFA additions, from the Rams, is available after the jump.

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The St. Louis Rams added 10 new players to the roster via the 2012 NFL Draft. Though a few picks certainly defied expectations, reaction from fans has been mostly optimistic. Certainly the Rams were hamstrung to try and fill every single roster need the team had in one draft, but picks split between the offense and defense and improved already strong units at defensive line and in the secondary. That still wasn't enough to earn the Rams a decent grade from the analysts at NFL.com, who gave Les Snead's first draft a C.

Why?

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I always roll my eyes at draft grades the day after the draft, even a week after the draft. But I always do them. Everyone does. We're trained to. We're also trained to buy into scouting reports and media analysis, because, let's face it, most football fans don't grind hours of tape. That forms preconceived notions of which players should be drafted where. (I'll cop to helping set those notions). The reality is that teams view players much differently. Greg Cosell of NFL Films tackled that issue on Monday using the St. Louis Rams 2nd-round pick of Brian Quick to illustrate.

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Charlie Casserly at NFL.com examined some of the decisions teams made in the 2012 NFL Draft. He hit on one of the choices made by the St. Louis Rams that left me wondering when the team's first of three 2nd-round picks was announced: Brian Quick over Rueben Randle.

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A post about a kicker? Yes, a post about a kicker. As you know, the St. Louis Rams spent their 6th-round pick on Western Missouri kicker Greg Zuerlein. At least one expert says that Zuerlein could have the most immediate impact of any player in the team's 2012 draft class.

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Earlier in the day, I tried to ascertain an early look as to what fans can expect from rookie running back Isaiah Pead, the St. Louis Rams' third of three 2nd-round picks. I think most fans are pretty excited to finally have some more speed in the offense, and a player that makes a natural complement to Steven Jackson. After all, fans have only been waiting on this for four years or so.

Extrapolating predictions from 500 words of copy take a focused mind. Watching what a player like Pead can do in the offense is way more fun, way, way, way more fun. So with that, how about a few highlight videos of Pead's time in Cincinnati, where he was one of the Bearcats' most effective rushers.

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