St. Louis Rams: News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon (Friday Edition)

Welcome to the Friday edition of the St. Louis Rams "News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon."  The offseason is progressing rapidly with the 2012 NFL free agency period less than a month away (March 13) and the 2012 NFL Draft just over two months away (April 26-28).

The NFL draft may perhaps produce more wheeling and dealing than we have been accustomed to when considering the changes to the new rookie wage scale agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement initiated in 2011.  

The new rookie wage scale is "team friendly" and make top picks more affordable economically.  Thus, the risk to trade up into the Top 10 will be dramatically reduced.  Furthermore, there are two potential franchise quarterbacks available (Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III) and those have always demanded a premium price (see Ryan Leaf, etc.).  

That was the case even under the formerly "player friendly" rookie wage scale where top picks cost a fortune and busts could sabotage a team's cap for years. How much more might those picks bring now with the new aforementioned rookie wage scale in place?  The Rams could be the first team to find out. 

Todd McShay of ESPN believes that the Cleveland Browns should trade up with St. Louis to attain the Rams No. 2 overall selection to nab Griffin III.  McShay also feels that the Browns will have to win a bidding war with the Washington Redskins if they are to successfully pull off a trade.

That, of course, could be a most beautiful thing for St. Louis.  A bidding war for the No. 2 pick is a dream scenario that the Rams certainly hope comes to fruition.  

Mike Mayock of the NFL Network has revised his top five position rankings for players available for the 2012 NFL Draft.  Of note, he now has Baylor's Kendall Wright ranked as his second best wide receiver prospect and Reuben Randle of LSU (wide receiver) ranked fourth.  

For a very solid 2012 NFL Mock Draft database, please look here.  For the latest NFL Mock Draft of Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, check this. 

As most of you know, the Rams have hired Les Snead of the Atlanta Falcons as the organization's new general manager.  You can listen to an exclusive interview with Snead via stlouisrams.com here. 

On the field, many expect St. Louis to pursue a solid backup/change-of-pace running back.  Even Snead of Rotoworld broke down the free agent running back position nicely in this three-page piece. 

Finally, Howard Balzer analyzed the Rams' salary cap situation going into the 2012 season and some possible options to create salary cap space.

I would like to encourage each of you to submit questions for the second "Weekly Weekend Rams Question and Answer Session."  Please share your questions for me in the comments section or at my twitter link below.  

By the way, I am heading into the land of the Chiefs today (Kansas City, Missouri) so you can bet I will be rocking a St. Louis Rams jersey boldly and proudly all day and night long, just to aggravate Kansas City fans, if nothing else. 

Have a great Friday and a great weekend, STL Rams nation. 

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.