The St. Louis Rams hold a pretty good hand in this year’s draft. After trading with the Washington Redskins, the Rams now hold the sixth overall pick. With that pick, the brass at Rams Park have many options to choose from too.
The most popular option – well, at least from of the fans here – is Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon. Blackmon has been coined as the projected Rams’ selection since the team held the No. 2 overall pick. And since the Rams are wide receiver needy, the Blackmon choice makes sense.
Besides Blackmon, there are many other players that could be available at the sixth spot. TST has already discussed the possibility of taking LSU’s cornerback Morris Claiborne or Alabama’s running back Trent Richardson. Next in line is Memphis’ defensive tackle Dontari Poe.
Here are a few pros and cons about both Blackmon and Poe after the jump.
Justin Blackmon
It’s a safe bet to say that you guys have heard plenty of arguments in support of Blackmon, so I’ll just keep it short. First, Blackmon's a great catcher with a good catch radius - something the Rams desperately need; and he can out-muscle CBs with his strength and size. Route running is another of Blackmon’s strong suits.
Cons:
Blackmon doesn’t really have many weaknesses. Everything Blackmon does, he does well. But as far as the Rams are concerned, that can be a chink in the armor – no Jeremy Lin. Blackmon has adequate speed, but he doesn’t possess that elite speed that could have made him a deep threat at the next level. So in fewer words, he’s more of a possession receiver. There is also questions about his ceiling not being as high as one would like in a potential No. 1 receiver.
Dontari Poe
Pros:
The man tore up the Combine. Poe weighed in at a beastly 346 pounds and ran an official 4.98 40-time at the NFL Combine. According to the folks over at ProFootballTalk, he had an unofficial 1.7 ten-yard split, meaning the guy is pretty damn explosive. Poe also demonstrated that he is a very strong fellow, pumping out 44 reps on the bench press.
Cons:
He is pretty much a combine, workout warrior – the type of player that would have Dan Snyder or Al Davis salivating at his measurables. In his time at Memphis, Poe didn’t really put up much production. He didn’t really pop up much on game tape.
Final Verdict
If it was between these two players and I was the one pulling the strings at Rams Park, Blackmon would be the sixth overall pick. Blackmon has the resume to go along with his workout numbers. Sure, he’s not as good as a receivers as last year’s crop (Green and Jones), but he definitely addresses a position of need. Poe also fills in a spot of need, but he is more of a craps shot.
What do y'all think? Who would you draft out of these two players? From all of the players possibly available at that pick, who would you draft?