Wednesday, March 21, 2012

St Louis Rams 2012 NFL Draft Fan Poll: Who Does Rams Nation Want at Number 6?

The St. Louis Rams possess the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draftafter trading the No. 2 selection and the eventual rights to Heisman winning quarterback Robert Griffin III to theWashington Redskins in an historic deal that saw St. Louis land a total of three first rounders and a second round selection.
Of course, many of you have read Matt Miller's "Peyton Manning to Denver Broncos" mock draft here on Bleacher Report.  Miller has the Rams taking wide receiver Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State at No. 6. 
CBSsports.com has a collection of mock drafts from their team of draft evaluators.  One of those, Rob Rang, has the Rams going with former LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne at the aforementioned spot. 
Walter Football has a brand new mock up today, and it too has the Rams grabbingBlackmon at No. 6. 
Other consensus options at No. 6 include left tackle Matt Kalil of USC and former Alabama running back Trent Richardson
Many of you have already read my breakdown of the Rams' options at No. 6, including the ranking of the four above-mentioned players, the biggest need in St. Louis, safest pro future and the highest-valued position.
As for the fantastic four, each could offer some potentially great things for St. Louis if they are indeed available when the Rams are on the clock.
Blackmon could potentially become a No. 1 receiver for St. Louis, and a go-to target that Sam Bradford could build and grow with for the next decade.
Kalil_crop_340x234Matt Kalil
After averaging 12 points per game in 2011, the annually sub-par wide receiving corps of the Rams could benefit from pairing the former Oklahoma State Cowboy with the Sooners' product, Bradford.  
A second option would be Kalil.  
The impressive left tackle could lock down the left side of the offensive line for a decade-plus like former Rams great Orlando Pace did for Kurt Warner and other Rams QBs.  
Adding Kalil would allow Rodger Saffold to slide to right tackle and give St. Louis the nucleus of a stellar offensive line (Kalil, Saffold, Scott Wells and Harvey Dahl) going forward.  Bradford would likely have great blindside protection for the foreseeable future with Kalil in the fold. 
Choosing Claiborne is another alternative.
In today's pass-happy NFL it is almost impossible to have too many strong defensive backs.  As the Rams found out last year, having depth at DB is essential after losing 10 corners to the injured reserve.
Claiborne would likely pair with new addition Cortland Finnegan as a starter at cornerback.  
At 6'0, he has the size to go with his impressive tool chest to develop into one of the league's better corners. 
Trent-richardsonjpg-133ce6ece5e50b1b_large_original_original_crop_340x234Trent Richardson
Finally, the Rams could grab Richardson at No. 6 and set St. Louis up to unleash an extremely powerful running game and one-two punch with incumbent Steven Jackson sharing the load. 
Richardson would become the heir-apparent to Jackson who will turn 29 later this year.  He would also provide exemplary injury insurance in the case that Jackson go down with a long-term injury (as he did last season when missing four games.) 
So, Rams Nation, who do you like at No. 6?
Here is the criteria to keep in mind when voting in the poll on the right:
-All four players are available at No. 6 in this theoretical case
-This assumes the Rams are not trading down
-This is strictly who you would pick, not who you think the Rams will select 

That established, please make you vote in the poll to the right and ask every one of your friends in Rams Nation to do the same.

Who Would You Pick at No. 6?

  • A: Justin Blackmon

    55.1%

  • B: Morris Claiborne

    5.7%

  • C: Matt Kalil

    27.2%

  • D: Trent Richardson

    12.0%

  • It will be very interesting to see the results, particularly if the voting pool ends up totaling 5,000 or more. 
    I will be revealing the Rams Nation results in an upcoming article.  Please justify your vote by sharing your reasoning for it in the comments section below.  
    The best comments (one for each player) will be chosen and quoted in the previously mentioned, future column.  
    I am very anxious to see who Rams Nation wants with the No. 6 pick.