2012 NFL Draft: Rams Will De-Horn Themselves If They Trade Down from No. 2

Sam Bradford drives an old car without airbags to get used to playing with no protection.

In just two seasons as the St. Louis Rams' starting quarterback, Bradford has been sacked a whopping 70 times.  With countless holes up and down their depth chart, trading back seems like a logical plan of action, but in reality, all dealing the No. 2 overall pick would do is create an even larger hole.

According to Dan Pompei of the National Football Post, St. Louis wants to trade down, and on the receiving end of such a deal would be a team interested in Robert Griffin III.  But falling to No. 4 after a swap with the Cleveland Browns or No. 6 if they struck a deal with the Washington Redskins would take them out of the running to select All-World offensive tackle prospect Matt Kalil.  There isn’t a chance in the world that the Minnesota Vikings at No. 3 would pass on the best lineman in this year’s draft class by far, and the Rams need Kalil.

This year, St. Louis’ offensive line allowed the most sacks in the NFL.  They also surrendered the most quarterback hits.  Bradford is capable of becoming a Super Bowl-caliber franchise quarterback, but if the Rams continue to field a revolving door as an O-line, he will bust.

Allow me to take you back a decade to a disaster I like to call the David Carr Debacle.  The 6’3”, 216-pound Carr was selected first overall by the expansion Houston Texans and possessed all the potential in the world.  With hindsight on their side, many label the former Fresno State passer one of the greatest busts in league history, but he wasn’t given a fair shot.

During his five-year tenure with the Texans, Carr was sacked an average of 50 times a season, including an insane 76 as a rookie, which is the league record.  He had no shot to succeed with the young team’s pitiful protection.  And Bradford will suffer the same result, the scarring of a young QB's development, if the Rams trade down.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.