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The St Louis Rams have had a very difficult go at finding wide receivers to replace the Greatest Show on Turf legends, á la Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. And while many [very many] have attempted, the proverbial shoes are rather difficult to fill...
But it’s not as though the Rams’ roster isn’t brimming with talent. They drafted Tavon Austin out of West Virginia in 2013. Austin was widely regarded as "the most electric player in college football." If that wasn’t impressive enough, consider that they drafted his teammate - Stedman Bailey - two rounds later. Possibly the second most electric player [?], Stud-man caught the same amount of passes, yet had 333 more reception yards. Oh, and 13 more touchdowns.
Brian Quick - the first pick in the second round of the 2012 draft - didn’t quite make the immediate impact most fans would’ve liked, given his draft status. In his first two seasons with the team he caught 29 passes for 458 yards, and four touchdowns. BUT, Quick started strong in 2014, prior to his season-ending shoulder injury in Week 8, catching 25 balls for 375 yards through 6+ games. He also had three scores, and looked to be the big-bodied downfield threat the Rams had been searching for...
A fellow draft pick from 2012, Chris Givens set an NFL rookie record for consecutive games with 50-yard catches; snagging five in a row on his way to 698 yards on the year.
...as an aside, that figure [698] isn’t without significance in St. Louis. As a matter of fact, no Rams’ receiver [until last week] had eclipsed 700 reception yards in a season since the great Torry Holt in 2008...
So, you see what they’ve been working with...
After Quick went down, Kenny Britt served as the Rams’ top wideout for the remainder of the 2014 year. He’d said, shortly after leaving the Titans, he hoped to go somewhere and prove he could be a true No. 1 receiver. And while Britt hasn’t necessarily set the world on fire, he’s the first wideout since Holt to eclipse 700 receiving yards in a season. On a 1-year, $1.4mil contract, he’s been well worth the money.
- The Mock -
Josh Norris - NFL Draft writer for Rotoworld and NBC Sports - released his newest "Top 20" NFL Mock Draft for 2015 on Monday morning. Despite a depth chart loaded with skill players, Norris feels the Rams are still one player shy of having a legitimate receiving corps...
10. St. Louis Rams - WR Kevin White, West Virginia
The Rams roster is very interesting when projecting possible positions to target. Teams have won with worse WRs than they currently have, but Kevin White is a developing talent who can win on the ground, in contested situations and with the ball in his hands. I would not be surprised to see him as the No. 1 receiver on some boards.