Prior to the 2013 NFL draft, fans and media members alike had a feeling the St. Louis Rams would select two wide receivers. The only problem was no one knew who those two receivers would be. Names like Cordarrelle Patterson, Tavon Austin, DeAndre Hopkins, Robert Woods and Justin Hunter were all logical early-round choices.

Austin’s stock rose considerably as the draft drew near, so the possibility of drafting him looked bleak. But the Rams didn’t let his ascension into the top 10 scare them off. St. Louis’ front office pulled the trigger and executed a blockbuster draft day trade with the Buffalo Bills to ensure its selection of the first-team All-American.

That meant the selection of one wide receiver was down with one to go. In the third round, no one believed the Rams would select another West Virginia wideout with Quinton Patton and Da’Rick Rogers still on the board.

Rogers ended up going undrafted for off-the-field issues, and Patton wasn’t held as in high regard as Stedman Bailey, so St. Louis made the move.

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When you think of the dreaded sophomore slump, you typically think of rookie quarterbacks who fail to produce in Year 2. In today’s NFL, it’s rare to see a rookie quarterback sit and learn behind a vested veteran. The league has turned into a place where immediate results are expected.

Some organizations need to play a rookie quarterback right away, that’s understandable. But, there are a few teams who still manage to do things the old-fashioned way. The San Francisco 49ers are one of the select few. In 2011, they had enough talent at the quarterback position to put their rookie quarterback on the bench for a year. 

Colin Kaepernick learned some invaluable lessons during his year on the sidelines. According to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, Kaepernick hailed Alex Smith as a great teacher and teammate:

The praise of Smith should come as no surprise. 

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After three sub-par seasons in San Francisco to start his career, the light bulb finally went off for wide receiver Michael Crabtree in 2012. He led the 49ers in receptions, yards and receiving touchdowns by securing 85 passes for 1,105 yards receiving and nine touchdowns.

Moreover, he turned in two 100-yard receiving games over the course of three playoff games.

Even though the 49ers didn’t win the Super Bowl in 2012, Crabtree appeared to be on his way to superstardom. Not to mention the fact he was also finally starting to live up to his lofty draft status (former 10th-overall pick in 2009).

However, life rarely follows suit, especially in the NFL. Mike Garafolo of the USA Today tweeted out a short time ago that Crabtree suffered a torn Achilles yesterday during San Francisco’s organized team activities.

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When Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke took over in San Francisco, the organization was in desperate need of big-play ability at the wide receiver position. In 2010, former 49ers head coach Mike Singletary fielded Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan, Ted Ginn and Dominique Zeigler on a weekly basis.

This four-man rotation led to one of the NFL’s worst passing attacks. At the end of the 2010 NFL season, the Niners were at the bottom of the league in terms of completion percentage, first downs through the air and quarterback rating.

Not a single wide receiver on the roster that year had more than 55 catches and 741 yards receiving. Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis led the 49ers in every single receiving category including receptions, yards and touchdowns.

The subpar play didn’t sit well with Harbaugh and Baalke. So they made it a point during the 2011 offseason to add new players to the mix while coaching up the group of wideouts who had held roster spots previously. 

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There is a new coach and new excitement in Arizona. But will any of the Cardinal players respond and have a breakout season in 2013?

After six years in the desert, the Arizona Cardinals decided it was time to move on from head coach Ken Whisenhunt. With Whisenhunt at the helm, the organization had seen its fair share of ups and downs. 

He led them to the playoffs in back-to-back years and even managed to reach the Super Bowl in 2008. However, Whisenhunt was never able to field a team that was considered to be a playoff contender after Kurt Warner retired.

Warner’s retirement and Whisenhunt’s inability to find a proper replacement ultimately led to his demise. That, in turn, made room for the hiring of former Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. 

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When Jeff Fisher and Les Snead took over in St. Louis, expectations immediately shot through the roof. The hiring of two well respected names throughout league circles brought about immense hope to an organization that desperately needed it. 

After only one season, fans could see the light at the end of the tunnel. They saw a much better product being put on the field week in and week out. They saw more consistent play as the season went on, and most importantly they learned to trust the people who were put in charge of football decisions.

That wasn't necessarily the case in years past. Very few onlookers trusted Mike Martz, Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo.

After a 7-8-1 record in 2012, expectations have been heightened yet again for the 2013 season. Here are six players the Rams are counting on to break out in 2013. 

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Some NFL hopefuls go undrafted for numerous reasons. They may be small-school products, they may have injury pasts that scare off teams or they may not be draftable based on character concerns. Whatever the reason is, teams wait until after the draft to bring them in as priority free agents. 

However, it seems like at least one player every year makes a team as an undrafted free agent. After high roster turnover during the offseason, the St. Louis Rams may be looking for more priority free agents to bring their roster numbers up compared to other NFL organizations.

Let's take a look at the 16 (so far) undrafted free agents the Rams have officially signed to future contracts.

*All signing information is provided by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Some NFL hopefuls go undrafted for numerous reasons. They may be small-school products, they may have injury pasts that scare off teams or they may not be draftable based on character concerns. Whatever the reason is, teams wait until after the draft to bring them in as priority free agents. 

However, it seems like at least one player every year makes a team as an undrafted free agent. After a poor season in 2012, the Arizona Cardinals may be looking for more priority free agents compared to other NFL organizations.

Let's take a look at the three (so far) undrafted free agents the Cardinals have officially signed to future contracts.

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