NFL Free Agency: Could Josh McDaniels Work His Magic in St. Louis?

When I first saw that Mike Sims-Walker had signed with the St. Louis Rams my first thought was, "Great, the Rams signed a big target who can be a go to receiver." My second thought was, "This guy was really up and down when he was on my fantasy football team."

So how will the Sims-Walker pickup turn out for the Rams? Only time will tell.

What we've seen so far in Steve Spagnuolo's tenure with the Rams is that he's made very few mistakes. The organization has been very precise with what they want to do to mold this young team. With that said, they must know something that they can do with Sims-Walker to prove that he's a diamond in the rough.

Josh McDaniels has a history from his time with the Patriots and Broncos of developing guys that were unknowns into key contributors. For example, Wes Welker was a very little known guy when he stepped into Foxborough, MA, and then all of the sudden we have a yearly 100 reception guy. Same instance in Denver. McDaniels was able to turn Brandon Lloyd into a top five receiver in 2010.

What is most striking about what McDaniels is doing in St. Louis is the type of receivers that he is bringing in. We haven't seen the small guys that he has always worked with. He has always had guys of shorter stature. Deion Branch (5'9"), Wes Welker (5'9"), Brandon Lloyd (6'0") and Eddie Royal (5'10"). Now he's brought in Austin Pettis (6'2"), Greg Salas (6'1") and Mike Sims-Walker (6'2").

Maybe this won't be the Greatest Show on Turf Part 2, but it could still be the start of a prolific passing game. With receivers this tall, the Rams could use more routes in the 5-10 yard range to progressively move down the field. Also, Sam Bradford will have the chance to tear teams apart in the red zone by throwing it up and letting his receivers make the play.

Will Rams fans see Tom Brady like numbers out of Sam Bradford this year? Maybe, but definitely expect Josh McDaniels to make a lot out of what may look like nothing with this receiving core.