NFL Draft 2012 No. 2 Pick : Rams Have Talked to Browns, Redskins, Dolphins, More

The St. Louis Rams have had "very preliminary discussions" with the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins (and other unidentified teams slated to pick outside of the top 10) about potentially trading their No. 2 pick, according to this article from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  

These teams, of course, are interested in moving into position to select Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III of Baylor, who left Indianapolis as the undisputed winner of the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, according to this piece from nfl.com. 

In Thomas' article linked above, he asserts his belief that the Redskins are probably the early favorites to land the No. 2 pick due to strong relationships between team executives (Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and Rams VP of Football Operations Kevin Demoff) and head coaches (Jeff Fisher, Rams and Mike Shanahan, Redskins). 

Over the weekend, Howard Eskin of NBC 10 Philadelphia expressed via his twitter account that the Redskins "are prepared" to make a strong offer to the Rams for the No. 2 pick, as detailed in my article here.  

Nobody yet knows exactly what exact compensation the Rams will ultimately be able to attain if they indeed trade the rights to the No. 2 draft slot.  

However, Peter King of Sports Illustrated suggests that you completely throw out the NFL Draft value chart when attempting to speculate on the possible value of the No. 2 pick and RGIII.  

King says there has not been a No. 2 pick in this drawing this much interest since 1998, when Ryan Leaf was chosen by the San Diego Chargers.

In '98, San Diego gave up two first-round picks, a second-round pick and two players (including three-time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf) to move up just one spot to nab Leaf. 

Yesterday, I expressed seven reasons why a theoretic RGIII trade could net the Rams a bigger haul than the aforementioned Leaf trade of '98 and bring the third-biggest draft day bounty ever.  

Regardless of how it all plays out, it will be compelling to watch the process unfold.  

If a trade does in fact materialize (and it most likely will), the outcome would go a long way in determining the fate of the Rams franchise (and that of their eventual trading partner) for many years to come. 

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