St. Louis Rams 2012 NFL Draft: Video of Five Players the Rams Should Target

The St. Louis Rams, such a popular preseason pick to surprise people this season, need a lot of help.  At 0-4, they might be the worst team in the NFL. 

Unless things change drastically by Week 17, they could make a run at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, so moribund have they been.

As I wrote in a previous article, maybe the Rams will select Standford's stud QB, Andrew Luck?

Whatever the Rams decide to do, they have to add some talented players on both sides of the ball.

Last week, I wrote about the cuts the Rams need to make on offense and defense.  Specifically, the Rams are very weak in the defensive secondary, terrible on the offensive line, and they have virtually no playmakers for QB Sam Bradford to throw to. Steven Jackson has been inconsistent, and the wide receiving corps, supposed to have been strengthened by the offseason acquisition of Mike Sims-Walker, has been almost nonexistent.

Take a look at five players the Rams could select with their first pick in the upcoming draft. 

Alshon Jeffrey, WR, South Carolina

Alshon Jeffrey is the consensus pick as the best wide receiver prospect in the upcoming draft. 

He is 6'4", 229 pounds, and runs a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash according to cbssportsline.com. 

The kid is a stud. This isn't too hard, is it? The Rams crave a legit No. 1 wide receiver, and Jeffrey has all the makings of a top NFL target.

Chances are good that he will still be available when we're drafting.

What? Billy Devaney is still the general manager? Well, then we know better to think this will be a straightforward decision. Let's take a look at a few other options.

Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State

If you're not going to take Alshon Jeffrey, then you have to take Justin Blackmon. The Oklahoma State receiver has been compared to Terrell Owens physically. I just hope that's where the T.O. comparisons end! 

Blackmon is a great prospect, and the kind of player that would provide instant relief for Sam Bradford.  He isn't quite as big as Jeffrey, but at 6'1" and 215 pounds, he is a physical receiver who has wheels (4.54 timed 40 according to cbssports.com).

Of course, Blackmon is making plays against solid defenses in the Big 12. Whether his stats have been inflated by Oklahoma State's offense is irrelevant. He's a gamer.

Jeffrey, on the other hand, is making plays against SEC corner backs. Generally speaking, that is where you can find the best defenses in the country. 

Segue to our next prospect.

Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

If the Rams don't choose a wide receiver...I know, I know. How could they not choose a wide receiver? 

Guys, remember, it's Billy D at the draft-day helm. We have no idea when he is going to wait until the third or fourth round to draft multiple wide receivers the team will never use. Taking one in the first round? Far too easy.

So Billy D instead decides to focus on another team weakness, corner back. The Rams could select Dre Kirkpatrick out of Alabama. According to cbssports.com, he is a big cornerback (6'2, 192 pounds) and he can run (4.49 in the 40). 

Did I mention that he plays for Alabama, and is coached by Nick Saban? That team has been bandied about as having one of the top defenses—ever.

That's good enough for me. If we're not going to pick a wide receiver, then I think Dre Kirkpatrick needs to be the pick.

Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama

Trent Richardson is my sleeper pick for the Rams. Here is how I see this playing out:

Three of the top six prospects in the 2012 draft are quarterbacks (Andrew Luck, Landry Jones, and Matt Barkley).

There are a lot of teams that need QB's, and luckily, the Rams aren't one of them. So one of those teams could offer the Rams several picks for the chance to move up a couple of spots. 

If the Rams slid back further than 8th, then both wide receivers would surely be gone. 

Dre Kirkpatrick would still be on the board, and the Rams could take pounce on him. They surely need help in their secondary, right?

Not so fast.

The Rams' problems in the secondary are pressing, but they are more the result of injuries. Ron Bartell and Jerome Murphy, the teams' top two CB's, are both out for the year. 

If they could come back healthy in 2012, maybe the Rams would use this pick on another need.

Running back. Yeah, I said it.

Steven Jackson's best days are behind him. He can still provide a solid option, but the Rams are not going to "win big" during his steadily dwindling window of serviceable years.

Why not trade Jackson, get a couple of decent picks back in return, and let Jackson at least play for a winner before he retires? That is win-win for both the Rams and Jackson.

Meanwhile, Trent Richardson would become the Rams' featured back, and we could watch as he grows old with Sam Bradford. The Rams could use those extra picks they acquired by moving back in the draft and trading Jackson to fill more roster holes.

Billy Devaney, this advice is free. However, if you want to hire me, have your people call my people.

Matt Kalil, LT, USC

Matt Kalil is a beast at left tackle. 

We all know the Rams have to do something to protect Sam Bradford if he is ever going to reach his potential.  Having said that, I just don't like the idea of drafting a left tackle with the second or third overall pick in the draft. 

I don't know, just call it the "Jason Smith" effect.

Here is the problem. If you draft Kalil, you're getting a franchise left tackle. The Rams' offensive line is a mess, but second year player Roger Saffold is currently entrenched at left tackle. He has been pretty good.

The problem is Jason Smith, who plays right tackle.

Smith, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, has been an unequivocal bust. Who drafts a right tackle No. 2 overall?

That is simply pathetic. So if you do draft Kalil, of course you would put him at left tackle for the next 12 years. 

Then what do you do with Saffold? Move him to right tackle? That switch isn't as straightforward as it sounds.

So, to sum up my thoughts on Kalil, he might be the smartest pick the team could make. 

But in picking him, we would be admittedly taking a huge step backwards. But maybe that's not the worst possible thing.

It would probably mean that we would be trading Saffold, who was the first pick in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft, though.

Two steps forward, and three steps back.

But if the Rams can't move back in the draft, nabbing Kalil might be the smart move if we don't want Sam Bradford to end up like Marc Bulger.