2012 NFL Draft: Why St. Louis Rams Would Benefit Most from First Overall Pick

Most of the talk for the past several weeks has centered on the Indianapolis Colts getting the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. The St. Louis Rams are suddenly in the running, however, and I believe they need the pick more than anyone at this point.

The Colts have won two consecutive games, and if they can defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17 and the Rams lose to the San Francisco 49ers, then St. Louis will leapfrog Indy for the top spot. This would open up a number of interesting scenarios.

Regardless of which team gets the top pick, it is almost a given that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will be the selection. There is uncertainty regarding whether Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will ever fully recover from his neck injury, but if he does, then Luck will be a wasted pick for a couple years.

Because of Manning's condition I think the Colts would take Luck and keep him rather than trade him. If they get the No. 2 pick, though, then it will likely knock them out of the Luck sweepstakes and allow them to take a player who can help immediately like USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil.

If the Rams ended up with the No. 1 pick, however, they would have a myriad of options. The first thing they could do is to draft Luck and keep him. This would be a bit of a shocking move as the drafted quarterback Sam Bradford first overall a couple years ago, but it comes down to which player the front office prefers.

This would result in the Rams trading Bradford and likely getting a nice return since he has only been in the league for two years. Bradford took a step back in his second season as a professional, but much of that had to do with terrible offensive line play and subsequent injuries he suffered.

If the Rams are happy with Bradford, then drafting Luck and immediately trading him is a possibility. The San Diego Chargers did something similar in the 2004 draft when they selected quarterback Eli Manning, but traded his rights to the New York Giants for the rights to quarterback Philip Rivers and picks that became linebacker Shawne Merriman and kicker Nate Kaeding.

Failing that, the Rams could simply trade the pick to the highest bidder. For a team to move up even a couple spots to the No. 1 pick, it takes a king's ransom. That means the Rams could get a fantastic complement of draft picks to fill the many holes they have on their team, particularly on the offensive line and on defense.

Ultimately, the Colts are a completely different team with Manning. While they may have been a two- or three-win team without Manning, they could just as easily win 10 games with the same supporting cast next season provided Manning is healthy.

The same can't be said for the Rams, as they have deficiencies all over the place. I think trading the No. 1 overall pick would be a huge help for St. Louis, as it would give the Rams a bunch of picks to address their many needs.

While taking Luck first overall may be great for the Colts in the long run, no team more desperately needs that pick right now than the Rams.