How Does The Josh Gordy Trade Change The Picture At Cornerback?

St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead did it again on Tuesday. The man with the most lauded haircut under the Arch made his umpteenth deal since being hired, sending Josh Gordy, the team's fourth cornerback, to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 draft pick. Let's take a look at how the move reorders the depth chart at the cornerback position.

Gordy was brought over from the Green Bay Packers' practice squad last season, and pressed into duty after a rash of injuries decimated the Rams' cornerback depth. He was a solid fill-in who did more than most ever expected considering the circumstances.

Gordy started his first game with the Rams in Week 8 where he intercepted Drew Brees on the way to an upset win over the Saints. He was a regular starter by Week 10. According to PFF, opponents completed 65.7 percent of their passes at Gordy, and he allowed three touchdowns. He also had three interceptions.

Out of 109 corners graded by PFF, Gordy ranked 96th with an overall rating of -8.9 and a -5.7 rating in coverage. He was the worst ranked corner in the league against the run, according to PFF's stats.

The Central Michigan product was having a solid camp with the Rams, even getting a few reps with the starters in the team's nickel package, but was no more than a fifth cornerback on a team that spent a second- and a third-round pick on corners in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Here's an educated guess at what the depth chart at corner looks like now for the Rams.

1. Cortland Finnegan

2. Janoris Jenkins

You can write those two names in ink at this point. Finnegan was PFF's third-best cornerback last year, and the second-best against the run. He works well in the slot, and often moves in when the team goes to the nickel package where he can threaten as a blitzer too.

3. Bradley Fletcher

A holdover from the Spagnuolo era, the Iowa product has been a strong corner for the Rams. When healthy, he has been the regular third corner for the Rams' nickel package. Health is the key to Fletcher's success. He recovered quicker than expected from his second torn ACL, an injury that ended his season early last year.

4. Trumaine Johnson

5. Jerome Murphy

The order could be easily switched, but Johnson has been getting a heavy workload, including first-team reps on Tuesday. He is also a played scouted and drafted by the Fisher and Snead administration, someone at least loosely connected to Fisher's son who played his college ball at Montana too.

Murphy has also taken a few reps in the nickel package, though he was replaced by Gordy with Fletcher out. Murphy is trying to rebound from a season lost to injury last year.

6. Kendric Burney

The final spot comes down to a battle between Burney, who was added to the practice squad last year, and Quintin Pointer, an undrafted free agent from UNLV added this spring. Burney has the better college scouting report, with a better knack for finding the ball. Pointer has battled health issues in his past, including an ACL tear that kept him out for all of the 2010 season. This assumes that the Rams keep six corners, which they may very well not depending on who makes the six-man practice squad.