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Barring some miraculous rush of folks who really want to vote for the amount of Wide Receivers that the St. Louis Rams should retain for the upcoming season, it appears that the magic number will be six. That figure represents over 10% (for those who struggle with math, you're welcome) of the 53-man roster that we yearn so desperately to see on Sundays.
With 47 players left for the armchair GM's to decide upon, we'll move to the other side of the ball. It was hard to keep track of the names in the defensive backfield in 2011, and by season's end I think the Rams may have been fielding some of the local high-schoolers, simply because they stand one two functional legs (i.e. Justin King). And though the Rams secondary ranked 7th in opponents passing yards, it's in large part due to the fact that you don't need to throw it when your defensive line is equally as abysmal.
The Rams, and their fans, have higher aspirations for the 2012 season. It's easy to look at the list of folks that look to make the final roster and see clear upgrades at almost every position. The Rams chose a couple of DB's in relatively early in the draft in Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. They'll look to make immediately make in impact on defense. That's two spots solidified. Cortland Finnegan isn't going anywhere, either. That's three down, GM! Who else are YOU keeping? Let's take a look at the NINE guys who hope to wear a Rams uni this season…
| 42 | Burney, Kendric | CB | 5-9 | 190 | 24 | 1 | North Carolina |
| 30 | Caldwell, Jeremy | CB | 5-9 | 183 | 24 | R | Eastern Kentucky |
| 31 | Finnegan, Cortland | CB | 5-10 | 188 | 28 | 7 | Samford |
| 32 | Fletcher, Bradley | CB | 6-0 | 200 | 26 | 4 | Iowa |
| 21 | Jenkins, Janoris | CB | 5-10 | 193 | 23 | R | North Alabama |
| 22 | Johnson, Trumaine | CB | 6-2 | 204 | 22 | R | Montana |
| 37 | Daniels, Matthew | DB | 6-1 | 211 | 22 | R | Duke |
| 25 | Gordy, Josh | DB | 5-11 | 195 | 25 | 2 | Central Michigan |
| 33 | Pointer, Quinton | DB | 5-9 | 195 | 24 | R | UNLV |
Some pretty familiar, fan-favorite names in this bunch. Pro-bowlers, promising rookies, proven vets, and the oft-injured all lumped together in what appears to be….depth. Is that how you pronounce it? With nine guys to choose from, though, it's going to make this one slightly more difficult (or at least closer in the voting) than the previous WR group. Watching, as they seemingly dropped like flies last year, how many can you afford to let go?
I would assume that the defensive unit ends up with somewhere between 24 and 26 players. Either way, the Rams are down to 48 spots remaining with the recent armchair-GM selection of 6 WR's for the 2012 season. The Rams clearly have seven guys in front of this bunch, and with their depth still awaiting your seal of approval, it's imperative that you choose wisely. Who makes the cut? No pressure...