2012 NFL Mock Draft: St. Louis Rams Looking for Another Trade Down?

Zach Kruse

Mar 13, 2012

The St. Louis Rams are starting to get greedy.

According to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, the Rams are inquiring with teams about the possibility of trading down from the No. 6 overall selection—the same selection the team acquired from the Washington Redskins last week in exchange for two early picks in 2012 and first-rounders in both 2013 and 2014.

If the Rams found a potential suitor for the No. 6 pick—maybe a team looking to trade up for Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill—they could be looking at an abundance of top picks that hasn't been seen in a long time in the NFL.

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Over the next three years, St. Louis has six first-round picks and four second-rounders. Let that sink in for a second: 10 picks in the first 64 over the next three drafts. Add in any potential picks they may acquire in another trade down, and the Rams would essentially take over the first two days of the next three NFL drafts.

There may be a market for the No. 6 overall pick, too.

The Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns could all have an interest in Tannehill as quarterback-needy teams. Miami would need to move up two spots from No. 8, Seattle four spots from No. 12 and Cleveland 16 spots from No. 22. The Browns could also pick Tannehill No. 4 overall if they want a quarterback that badly.

Free-agent quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Matt Flynn will take two teams off that list.

Depending on how the draft board plays out, other teams may jump into trade talks with the Rams for different prospects. It's possible that a player such as Justin Blackmon or Trent Richardson is tempting enough for at least one team to consider a move up with the Rams.

In the end, St. Louis has enough holes on both sides of the ball to consider any trade offer. Most general managers will agree that adding picks—even after moving down from a higher selection—only increases the chances that St. Louis has on hitting on a player.

The Rams would love if Tannehill makes a late push as an NFL quarterback prospect. St. Louis used the overwhelming tidal wave of momentum from Robert Griffin III to essentially rob the Redskins of draft picks last week.

A solid couple of weeks could grant the Rams the opportunity to cash in again as a trade partner for even more draft capital.

2012 NFL Mock Draft

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor (via trade with St. Louis Rams)

3. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, USC

4. Cleveland Browns: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

6. St. Louis Rams: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State (via trade with Washington Redskins)

7. Jacksonville Jaguars: Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina

8. Miami Dolphins: Courtney Upshaw, OLB/DE, Alabama

9. Carolina Panthers: Michael Brockers, DT, LSU

10. Buffalo Bills: Quinton Coples, DE, North Carolina