At the start of the pre-draft hype, the St. Louis Rams looked locked and loaded to trade their No. 2 overall pick. The team has a starting quarterback, a top wide receiver, a solid offensive line and a young pass rusher. What is the need to draft so early? Plenty of teams have been eyeing the pick and would love to strike a deal. However, as uncertainty starts to creep up around Sam Bradford's future, are the Rams ready to use the pick on themselves?
Everyone from the general manager to head coach Jeff Fisher continues to voice their support for Bradford. The quarterback is coming off a season-ending ACL tear and is expected to be healthy come the start of the 2014 season. Talent wise, there is certainly a lot of upside to Bradford. He was the 2010 Rookie of the Year. However, he has failed to take that major step as an NFL quarterback which has led to trade rumblings galore, mainly by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The Rams have looked heavily at several quarterbacks in this year's draft. They have brought in first-round options like Johnny Manziel and Blake Bortles. They have explored late-round talent in Aaron Murray and Connor Shaw. They even glanced at the free agent market, but never made a move in that pool of talent. For a team that is claiming they are fully invested in their starting quarterback, they are taking a solid look around at their other options.
According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the Rams interest in Manziel is very serious. The Houston Texans are looking more and more likely to land Jadeveon Clowney leaving Manziel to fall right in their lap. He is considered too good to pass up no matter what Bradford's status is. The former Texas A&M star would fit well into their offensive system. Fisher understands what it means to work with a dynamic quarterback, having gotten the best years out of Vince Young. If the Rams can get him at quarterback, they will not pass up the chance.
If St. Louis does in fact draft Manziel, Bradford should consider himself serious trade bait. The quarterback still has two years and $27 million remaining on his contract. That is a lot attached to one player so a trade would be hard to work out, but several teams could favor Bradford over drafting a quarterback in general. Teams like the Buffalo Bills or Minnesota Vikings could be easy landing spots for the quarterback should things go south in St. Louis.
Plenty of teams like the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be disappointed if the Rams use that No. 2 pick. Everything hinges on what path the Texans take, but do not expect the Rams to give up their first pick so easily.
