Rams should draft Johnny Manziel, says Greg Cosell

You know the story. The St. Louis Rams are slowly piecing together a team that can contend in an incredibly difficult NFC West, home of last season's Super Bowl champs, a 49ers team that's been to three straight NFC Championship games and a Cardinals team that's leapt past them. Suffice it to say, the Rams have some pressure on them, and the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft is a pivotal moment for Les Snead and Jeff Fisher to get their team closer to the division rivals.

To that end, NFL Films guru Greg Cosell has a suggestion for what to do with the No. 2 pick: Take Johnny Manziel.

"They beat a lot of good teams down the stretch, not because Kellen Clemens played great, because ... run the ball, play really good defense," Cosell said. "They're building the defense.

"Johnny Manziel fits this whole philosophy of matching up in the NFC West. You have to beat them at their own game."

Cosell's point isn't so much about turning the Rams into a carbon copy of the Seahawks and the 49ers, but embracing that philosophy of playing a tough defense, running the ball and bringing in a quarterback capable of making the big plays when they need them.

Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick don't throw the ball 30 times a game. They don't need to. With their playmaking ability, they're capable of opening up their own opportunities on the field when their teams need to move the ball in a hurry or post one of those backbreaking big plays that can change the nature of a game.

It's less about "mobile quarterbacks," or whatever term you want to use, and more about playmakers to complement a stingy defense and a physical running game. If you're looking for the definition of what Jeff Fisher style football is, there you have it. Which might explain more about those reports of Fisher really liking Manziel.

The debate about the Rams drafting a quarterback is getting overplayed at this point. I realize that. However, given Cosell's status as a guy who is (mostly) above the HOT TAKES business, I thought this was an interesting point of view to present.

Whatever the Rams do in the draft, one thing is for certain, and that's the fact they have to find a way to get better on offense, no matter how you think they need to do that, if they're ever going to start competing again.