2012 NFL Mock Draft: Whom Could St. Louis Rams Select Post-Trade?

What started as a good idea for the St. Louis Rams has now blown into a full-out certainty.

Holders of the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Rams are a near lock to trade out of that spot to a team that desires to take Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

However, once the Rams do trade down, whether it to be the Cleveland Browns at No. 4 overall, Washington Redskins at No. 6 or Miami Dolphins at No. 8, St. Louis will have its next decision to make: Whom does it draft at a lower pick?

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne could be a very real option for the Rams if they move down.

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Claiborne, the highly touted cornerback from Louisiana State University, very much figures into the draft deliberations at Rams Park, particularly in the likely event of a trade-down from the No. 2 overall pick ... Widely considered the top cornerback in the 2012 draft, Claiborne could be an option for the Rams in a trade with Cleveland (at No. 4 overall) or Washington (at No. 6). Then again, the No. 6 might be too late for Claiborne, who won the Thorpe Award this past season as college football's top defensive back.

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Once potential snag to that plan could be the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who pick one spot ahead of the Redskins at No. 5 overall. They have an obvious need at cornerback and have been connected with Claiborne throughout the draft process. 

However, if at any point Claiborne is available to the Rams, there's reason to think they'd pull the trigger on the draft's top cornerback. 

Thomas points out how injuries shattered the Rams' cornerback position in 2011. Several of the cornerbacks on the roster are facing various problems heading into 2012, too. 

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It's easy enough to see why the Rams would be interested, just in terms of the team's roster situation. By season's end, six of the 16 Rams players on injured reserve were cornerbacks. Among the top five cornerbacks from a year ago, Al Harris has retired, Justin King is an unrestricted free agent, and Ron Bartell (neck), Bradley Fletcher (knee) and Jerome Murphy (ankle) are coming back from season-ending injuries.

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If the Rams do move down to the Browns' spot at No. 4, don't be surprised if Claiborne is the pick. Many will assume Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon to be the Rams' selection, but Claiborne could be the better value.

2012 NFL Mock Draft 

1.  Indianapolis Colts – Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2.  Cleveland Browns – Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (via trade with St. Louis Rams)

3.  Minnesota Vikings – Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4.  St. Louis Rams – Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State (via trade with Cleveland Browns)

5.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

6. Washington Redskins – Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa 

7.  Jacksonville Jaguars – Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame

8.  Miami Dolphins – Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

9.  Carolina Panthers – Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina

10.  Buffalo Bills – Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

11.  Kansas City Chiefs – Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

12.  Seattle Seahawks – Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

13.  Arizona Cardinals – Melvin Ingram, DE/OLB, South Carolina

14.  Dallas Cowboys – Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

15.  Philadelphia Eagles – Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College

16.  New York Jets – Nick Perry, OLB, USC

17.  Cincinnati Bengals – David DeCastro, OG, Stanford

18.  San Diego Chargers – Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

19.  Chicago Bears – Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

20.  Tennessee Titans – Cordy Glenn, OG, Georgia 

21.  Cincinnati Bengals – Lamar Miller, RB, Miami

22.  St. Louis Rams – Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama 

23.  Detroit Lions – Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

24.  Pittsburgh Steelers – Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis

25.  Denver Broncos – Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State

26.  Houston Texans – Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor

27.  New England Patriots – Mark Barron, S, Alabama

28.  Green Bay Packers – Whitney Mercilus, DE/OLB, Illinois

29.  Baltimore Ravens – Peter Konz, C, Wisconsin

30.  San Francisco 49ers – Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers

31.  New England Patriots – Devon Still, DT, Penn State

32.  New York Giants – Dont'a Hightower, LB, Alabama