2015 NFL Mock Draft: Rams Fill Big Hole On Defense

It’s never too early for a 2015 NFL Mock Draft, and with the St. Louis Rams sitting at 1-4, the draft will be the one thing that everybody looks forward to very soon. While the Rams are far from out of the playoff hunt, they are just as far from being in it. Upcoming is a stretch of games in which every team the Rams play over the next two months had ten or more wins last season. If Monday night was a sign of things to come, the next two months don’t look promising for the blue and gold.

By the looks of it at this point in the season the Rams will be in contention for a top ten if not even top five draft pick. At the moment, the Rams have the 6th draft position behind Jacksonville, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Washington, and the New York Jets.

With the 6th Overall Pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams Select…

Picking at number six with players like Connor Cook, Landon Collins, and Amari Cooper on the board, the Rams are going to need to make a decision as to which player is going to change their franchise. Cook would give the team a franchise quarterback, Collins gives them a ball hawking free safety, and Cooper is a big time wide receiver.

I don’t think the Rams roll with Bradford again, and Im not sure if Davis is the answer, only time will tell, however I don’t believe outside Mariota and Winston, if there is a potential franchise quarterback in this draft, and both of which will likely be gone at this point. As far as Cooper, Quick has really come into his own and the Rams have Kenny Britt and Stedman Bailey on the outside as well as Tavon Austin in the slot.

Over the past two seasons the one really big piece that the Rams have been missing is a ball-hawking safety, and that’s why I have the Rams taking Collins. Although he isn’t Earl Thomas, he may be the next closest thing. If its one thing the Seahawks have proved, it’s how important a top safety can be, and Collins can be just that.

Collins proved his playmaking ability last Saturday against Arkansas. Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen threw an ill-advised pass to running back Jonathan Williams who was coming out of the backfield late after blocking. Most safeties would notice the running back blocking and would go after the quarterback.

As Collins was about to do just that, he looked at Williams again, who was too wide to be blocking and was now breaking off his block of the outside linebacker and sprinting for daylight. Allen noticed the immediate space between the two and threw the ill-advised pass off his back foot and across his body.

It was close, but Collins did as he was coached and stayed with his man, who did a very good job of delaying his route.
Collins had to completely turn his body around to find Williams before even trying to locate the ball. Without perfect timing, Collins could have overplayed the ball, giving Williams an easy catch.

Even with Collins turning at the last second, he displayed great football smarts and ended up in great position to haul in the game-clinching interception in Alabama’s 14-13 win.

This is what the Rams are missing in their secondary, these types of plays. Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, and T.J. McDonald would all benefit from a playmaking safety like Collins who can play center field. McLeod is a backup safety at best, and he has made his fair share of plays, but if you have the opportunity to draft the next Earl Thomas-like safety, you have to take it.

Whether or not Collins will be on the board when the Rams pick is one thing, being in position to draft him will be a total different story. Collins may even start dropping down boards as the college football season goes on. We are still months away from the draft and as we should all know, anything can happen.