TST Community Mock Draft: Pick 1

Welcome to the second annual Turf Show Times community mock draft, the draft as conducted by St. Louis Rams fans. Jumping right in, here's Midasknight with the Rams first overall pick in the draft.

Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame

Yes, I know he’s probably #4 on most people’s lists, so here’s my rationale.

1. I think Clausen will be a better pro than Sam Bradford. Clausen is big enough, mobile enough, his arm is strong enough and he’s got an edge to him. I love his quick release and his attitude. He has grit. He has leadership. He’s tough. Yes, he seems to be slightly less on all the measurables than Bradford, but he also seems to be greater on all the intangibles.
2. The Rams need a franchise QB and if they improve in the manner they should next year, they will ‘hopefully’ not be in a position to draft the best QB coming out next year. That means, Bradford or Clausen this year … see #1.
3. I really wanted Suh here. If his knees hold up, he’ll be a beast for years. Clausen really has no ’if’s.’ With the first overall pick … and the money that goes with it … I want the best player with the fewest ’if’s.’ That player this year is Jimmy Clausen.
4. With the depth of this year’s draft, we can address many of our other needs during the rest of the draft. We can’t do that at QB later. Only with this pick. I am not sold at all on Colt McCoy and while I was originally hopeful about Dan Lefevour, I no longer am. 
5. IF (and I repeat IF) for some reason the FO choses to, they can very likely grab Golden Tate with the 33rd pick (Clausen’s teammate in college) and address a position many think still needs to be addressed while giving Clausen a familar target. I personally think barring injuries, we will be fine this year at WR and be able to pick up one of the studs coming out next year to be our true long term #1.
6. Aside from the #5 possibility, the rest of our draft should focus on DT, LB and backup RB. Maybe we grab Graham if he’s there at #33 but he shouldn’t be. TE isn’t here unless we take a flyer on a 4th rounder.

Remember, we need a few good drafts to become great again. I think Jimmy Clausen will be a great start.

As an aside, I thought prior to the Washington/Philly trade, that we could trade down to 4 and pick Clausen. Now we have to draft him #1 if we want him at all. For those Bradford fans, I have Bradford as my 5th option. Trading down and/or picking 4 others at #1 are preferable in my opinion to picking Bradford #1. He has too many question marks and I’m not even talking about his health. He seems soft, will take longer to become a good pro (if he gets there at all) doesn’t show much in the way of leadership, etc. I prioritize in this order: Clausen, Suh, Okung, McCoy, Bradford.

VanRam: It's definitely not the pick most people expected, and props to Midasknight for thinking outside the box. I know we have some Clausen fans on this site, and it's good to cut through the Bradford talk and get some other perspective on the team's draft. With Washington now Donovan McNabb's team, er, Mike Shanahan's team with Donovan McNabb, Bradford could end up falling pretty far in the draft, farther than expected at least. 

Detroit is on the clock.