Mary Altaffer/AP
The Rams trade down in the 2012 NFL draft allowing the Washington Redskins to take Robert Griffin III.
If Robert Griffin III of the Redskins or Morris Claiborne of the Cowboys is responsible for beating the Giants next season and prevent them from making the playoffs to defend their Super Bowl title, then blame the Rams.
St. Louis' goal in the 2012 draft was to accumulate as many picks as possible - a reasonable blueprint for a 2-14 team which hasn't made the playoffs since 2004. But in the process the Rams not only strengthened the NFC East by trading down in the first round with the Redskins and then the Cowboys, but sacrificed the option of picking one of the two players it most coveted: Alabama running back Trent Richardson and Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
The Rams first traded down last month from No. 2 to No. 6 with Washington, allowing the Redskins to finally solve â€" they hope â€" their quarterback problem by selecting RG3. If the Rams didn't have $50 million guaranteed tied up in Sam Bradford, then they might have been better off trading Bradford and taking RG3.
By trading out of the second spot, they had little chance to get Richardson, but they still had a shot to get Blackmon, the explosive wide receiver Bradford desperately needs. How much did they want Blackmon? When they found out the Jaguars, who were picking seventh, jumped one spot ahead of them into the Bucs’ spot at No. 5, new Rams coach Jeff Fisher reportedly slammed down his glasses and cursed. Jacksonville then took Blackmon.
The Rams made a great trade by getting three first-round picks and a second-round pick from the Redskins, but they got greedy. To make sure they would get Blackmon, they should have offered the Bucs a deal to flip-flop picks to move back up. That's the strategy the Redskins used in 1999 to get Champ Bailey after first trading down with the Saints so New Orleans could take Ricky Williams.
Tampa was willing to deal after Cleveland beat them to the trade with the Vikings to get Richardson. It cost the Jaguars just a fourth-round pick to move up two spots. The Rams could afford it because of all the extra picks they received from the Redskins.
When the Rams lost out on Blackmon, they went backwards eight spots to allow Dallas to move up for Claiborne and acquired a second-round pick, giving them three picks in the valuable second round. St. Louis drafted LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers at No. 14. Once they lost out on Blackmon, the Rams, who were depleted in the secondary last year, should have stayed put and taken Claiborne, the best corner prospect since Darrelle Revis. This was a draft that had six elite players and the Rams didn't get any of them despite starting off in the No. 2 spot.
No comments:
Post a Comment