Sean Mannion to St. Louis Rams: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

The St. Louis Rams entered this offseason in desperate need of offensive help. Clearly, the St. Louis front office got the message. 

The Rams used the No. 89 overall pick in the third round to grab Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion. 

St. Louis used its No. 10 overall pick to grab stud running back Todd Gurley out of Georgia. The Rams then grabbed a pair of offensive linemen in Wisconsin's Rob Havenstein and Louisville's Jamon Brown. 

The Rams, who ranked just 28th in 2014 in yards per game (314.7), are finally sick and tired of holding back their great defense with an incompetent offense. 

Mannion won't appear on the field in 2015 (at least Rams fans hope not), but he'll play another important role in St. Louis. 

After watching Sam Bradford go down with injuries in back-to-back seasons, the Rams are well aware of the importance of possessing a high-end No. 2 passer. The team is hoping Mannion can be that guy. 

Mannion is not expected to be a future franchise guy, but he offers value in other ways. 

How Sean Mannion Fits in with the Rams 

Former Pro Bowler Nick Foles will be the unquestioned starter in 2015. He'll get a fair chance to take this offense to the next level, and no one denies that. 

However, with only one successful season under Foles' belt at the NFL level, the Rams need to start preparing now for the worst. The team must at least try to find a future starter in case Foles doesn't pan out. 

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Foles suffered a 2014 collarbone injury that ultimately forced him to miss eight games. Even if Foles regains his Pro Bowl production, the Rams must prepare for a similar injury scenario. 

The Rams will groom Mannion and prepare him for the big stage. 

At 6'6" and 229 pounds, Mannion has excellent size for an NFL quarterback. He has the prototypical NFL passer body. And as a four-year starter in Oregon State's pro-style offense, he's also ahead of the curve when it comes to learning NFL-style play. 

Mannion does not possess a cannon arm, but his arm strength is completely acceptable; he can make all the NFL throws. He also throws with tremendous accuracy, which sets him apart from many of the other prospects. 

He has little mobility and is incapable of making plays with his legs, but his arm is dependable. 

Mannion had a career year in 2013. He completed 66.3 percent of his passes, threw for 4,662 yards and tossed 37 touchdowns (all career highs). 

In 2014, Mannion regressed a bit. He had just 15 touchdowns against eight picks and threw for just 3,164 yards. The decline is concerning, but it's worth noting that his Oregon State supporting cast was less than stellar. 

Had Mannion repeated his 2013 success last season, he could have gone much higher in this draft, possibly even the late first round. 

It's hard to say what his Year 1 role will be, but it's safe to assume the Rams didn't use a third-round selection on a camp body. 

Mannion will compete with Case Keenum for the No. 2 job. Keenum might win out thanks to his NFL experience, but Mannion will eventually take over that backup job. 

Initial Reaction and Grade for Mannion Pick

Regardless of the addition of Foles, it's no surprise that St. Louis took a quarterback.

According to NFL Draft Scout's Frank Cooney, the Rams hosted a number of quarterback prospects from this class. In fact, UCLA's Brett Hundley was the only one who didn't make a known visit. 

Rapoport also reported that the Rams held a private workout with Mannion two weeks before the draft. 

"

Well, here is another QB. Sean Mannion from Oregon St going to the #Rams. They worked him out privately 2 weeks ago

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 2, 2015"

Common sense suggested that the Rams would take a passer at some point. We just didn't know when. 

Garrett Grayson of Colorado State was an intriguing possibility. Like Mannion, he was one of the few quarterback prospects with experience in a pro-style offense. Unfortunately, the New Orleans Saints took him off the board at No. 75 overall.

Mannion is a nice consolation prize. In fact, there's no guarantee that the Rams didn't have Mannion ranked ahead of Grayson to begin with. There is no agreement whatsoever among analysts as to who is the third-best passer of the 2015 class. Things are pretty blurry beyond Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. 

When taking this year's quarterback-grading confusion into consideration, it's really impossible to call this pick a reach in any way. 

The Rams landed an excellent player at a position of need. 

Grade: A

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and served as the Rams' game-day correspondent in 2014. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or following him on Twitter.