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Wide receivers. How many nights during the last four years have St. Louis Rams fans sat up in bed in a cold sweat wondering if the Rams were ever going to add a receiver. The longing for receiver help, addressing the need around the fringes and the clear results made fans even more desperate, wanting to find the biggest name in free agency or a sure thing in the draft.
I think that left fans with dealing mixed emotions from this year's free agent period and the 2012 NFL Draft, not to mention some of the same concerns as before.
A recent run around the NFC West, NFL Network's Total Access talking heads brought up the Rams' receiver situation. Did they do enough to give Sam Bradford the "weapons" he needs? It's a fair question to ask.
The Rams are putting some big expectations on Brian Quick, their second-round pick, this year, and Quick is far different than the receivers the team has fielded in the past. He's a big man, a long-strider, a guy that profiles like the text book split end, though that concept is somewhat dated itself. Quick is ideally a better matchup player because of his size and hands, which are both elite.
They also drafted Chris Givens to give the receivers some speed, something they lacked since Donnie Avery did not work out here.
A third addition was Steve Smith. Essentially, Smith is getting a try out to see if his health has recovered and whether or not he can get back to being a solid possession receiver.
Beyond those three additions, the Rams are leaning heavily on a healthy Danny Amendola to help Bradford in the short passing game. Amendola's hands are a plus, but he is fairly limited as a playmaker.
After that, the Rams are looking at the same options they had last year when the passing game did not work so well, as you may recall. Progress from Greg Salas and/or Lance Kendricks could prove to be a difference-making development for the offense, but it is difficult to count on that until proven otherwise.
If Quick gets hurt or doesn't pan out, then what happens for the Rams? If there was one lesson from the 2010 season it was the limitations of a short passing game.
Did the Rams do enough to address the need at receiver? Is it reasonable to count on the development of Kendricks and Salas?