Each day a new 2012 NFL Mock Draft rolls out with basically the same thing pick for the St. Louis Rams. With the second selection, everybody either gives the Rams Matt Kalil or Justin Blackmon. Easy as that. Hell, even I'm guilty of it. Another caveat included in those mocks is the possibility of making a trade down with teams looking to move up to draft Baylor QB Robert Griffin III.
There's another element at play here, with the Rams getting ready to hire a new head coach.
It's widely assumed that the Rams have their franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford. Rightly so. His sophomore slump aside, he still has the skills and ability to be a top quarterback in the NFL. And that takes away at least a little of the leverage the Rams have for trading that pick.
Changing staff at Rams Park, however, adds a wild card to the mix, because new coaches often mean new quarterbacks.
A new mock at CBS hints at that.
With a new regime taking over the St. Louis' front office, a quarterback is not out of the question with this pick. However if they decide to stick with Bradford as their quarterback, the Rams need to stabilize the offensive line - something the Jason Smith pick No. 2 overall in 2009 hasn't done. Kalil is talented enough to start at LT from day one and mature into a Pro Bowler.
Even if a new head coach did want to draft another QB, the Rams are strictly limited by Bradford's contract, even if they traded him.
Like I said, this is all a little far fetched. Bradford is still the kind of quarterback a team can build around, even if Jeff Fisher doesn't reportedly love him. But the bottom line is that it at least gives the Rams a smoke screen, even a small one, to play with come April.