After passing on Eddie Lacy in the first round, the Rams waited until the 5th round to get their running back, Zac Stacy out of Vanderbilt. The Rams traded both of their sixth round picks away in order to get Stacy. Snead and Fisher obviously saw something in this kid that a lot of people didn’t. Zac Stacy had 27 bench reps which will allow him to bring a physical compliment to the Rams small, speedy running backs. Don’t think for a second that Stacy isn’t fast though, he ran a 4.55-40 and is agile despite his build.

Stacy played in the SEC which is by far the most dominant conference in college football. Stacy played against a lot of NFL talent and piled up some decent stats along the way. Stacy had 3,143 yards and 30 touchdowns during his college career and rushed for 1,141 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He also piled up 83 yards against Georgia and 86 yards against LSU which are NFL caliber defenses. Stacy is  a decent pass blocker and can catch out of the backfield having 150 yards receiving last season. Most importantly however, is that Zac Stacy is consistent, which is what the Rams are losing in Steven Jackson. Jackson always talked about how he took pride in being consistent, Stacy brings that consistency to the table. Zac Stacy could be the hidden gem in the bottom of the draft and be more NFL ready than people think.

The Rams are going to have an open running back competition between Richardson, Pead, Stacy, and Ganaway. It’s probably more of a three man race between Richardson, Pead, and Stacy however. Stacy will have every opportunity to start, and if he is not the week 1 starter he will definitely get touches in the running back by committee approach the Rams will have going. Stacy has a legitimate shot of starting, definitely don’t rule him out. Richardson has the most NFL game experience, but Stacy fits the typical Jeff Fisher running back.

Zac Stacy has the ability and potential to surprise a lot of people this season and be the next Alfred Morris. He probably wont rack up 1,600 yards rushing, but could be the week 1 starter and rush for over 1,000, and that could be doubtful as well as all of the running back on the Rams roster except for maybe Ganaway will get touches this season, giving the Rams three solid options to go with . However if it’s one guy to keep an eye on and watch out for, it’s definitely Zac Stacy.

November 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Daryl Richardson (26) carries the ball against the New York Jets during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Jets defeated the Rams 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Tyson Langland, over at Bleacher Report, probed the St. Louis Rams’ Twitterverse a couple of days ago, asking who the fans believed would breakout during the 2013 season. Results from those responses were mixed. However, in the end, he mentioned six players in his article “6 Rams Players Primed for a Break Out Season in 2013,” including: Brian Quick, Michael Brockers, Jared Cook, Trumaine Johnson, Isaiah Pead, and Robert Quinn. Sadly, we at Ramblin’ Fan disagree with about half of that list. So, we figured we would give our soon-to-be stars, and given a subtle rebuttal to a couple of players from their list…

1. Chris Givens

Brian Quick should show significant improvement over last season; but, then again, that is not saying too much. If Quick can beat out Stedman Bailey for the other outside receiver slot, he definitely has the chance to make a huge impact in the offense… just not as much as Chris Givens. Givens was the lone star in the offense last season, at least at receiver. For a stretch in the middle of the season (Week 6 through Week 13), he averaged 4.8 catches and 74.5 yards per game, including four games with over 20.0 yards per receptions.

Although he did reach a rookie record in consecutive games with a 50+ reception, Givens showed he was more than a pure burner, even catching 11 passes for 92 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. He did all of that while the secondary focused nearly all of their attention in his direction, with Amendola still ailing and no other viable receivers on the roster. Now, with big-time threats in Jared Cook and Tavon Austin and more playing time, Givens should skyrocket to the next level.

2. Daryl Richardson

While most have jumped back on the Isaiah Pead hype-wagon, Daryl Richardson remains the only player on the roster to have taken starting-caliber carries in a game. As the stand-in for Jackson at the beginning of the season, Richardson gained 431 yards on 80 attempts, good for 5.3 yards per carry. Even after getting shut down to mere pity carries in the final five games of the regular season, Richardson managed to maintain 4.8 yards per carry for the entire year, including an average of 2.8 yards after first contact; right on par with players like Marshawn Lynch (2.8), Alfred Morris (2.9), and ahead of Steven Jackson (2.7), Frank Gore (2.6), and Arian Foster (2.2).

However, Richardson was also effective in the passing game, with 163 yards on 24 receptions, including 188 yards after the catch… no, that was not a typo. Unfortunately, Richardson was on the receiving end of some ill-advised throws from the backfield, getting the ball dumped to him in the flats, even with a defender draped all over his back, which often resulted in negative yards. However, he also took several throws for huge gains, tallying 137 yards after the catch from passes thrown to him behind the line of scrimmage. Not too bad…

While there should be an “open competition” for the lion’s share of first-team rushing reps, there doesn’t appear to be any reason why Richardson would not repeat as the projected front-runner coming out of camp.

3. Janoris Jenkins

As outstanding as Jenkins was in the turnover game, the Rams’ sophomore starting-cornerback was not always the best in coverage, with some fairly significant lapses in the middle of the season. In fact, Jenkins ranked in the Bottom 15 corners in the league in receiving touchdowns allowed (5), although part of that blame goes to Craig Dahl for failing to help overtop. Jenkins gave up the highest catch percentage on the team (61.7%), often giving extremely large cushions on the outside. However, Jenkins did rate among the top of the league with 10 pass deflections (T-13th),  allowing only 10.8 yards per reception (T-20th), and snagging 4 interceptions (T-4th). He also finished out the year strong, allowing only 13 catches on 23 targets (56.6%) in the final four games of the season, not allowing a single touchdown or more than 50 receiving yards in a game, and snagging an interception against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the finals game of the season, Russell Wilson did not target Jenkins’ man on a single attempt, despite playing 62 of 65 defensive snaps in the game… the definition of “shut down.”

This is nothing against Trumaine Johnson, but it would be hard to imagine the third corner on the depth chart putting up “break out” numbers in a season. If the St. Louis Rams were to play 2013 out of the nickel package as much as they did in 2012, Johnson would be looking at anywhere between 600 to 700 defensive snaps, or about two-thirds the numbers of snaps as Cortland Finnegan or Janoris Jenkins. However, with the selection of Alec Ogletree, it would be hard to image the Rams not devoting more time to their base 4-3 defense in the coming year, especially if the rookie linebacker is an solid in coverage as he was through the rookie minicamp. When the Rams’ are in the nickel, Johnson does get the added benefit of playing on the outside, against some of the more targeted receivers. However, it would be hard to imagine a scenario were St. Louis’ other sophomore cornerback put up numbers that would make him stand out among all of the talented defensive backs in the NFL.

The small recognition and little to no national coverage is understandable and part of the reason they are underrated, but am I the only one sick of hearing about the Jets, the Jets, the Jets, and the Cowboys? The Rams would at least be something different. The Rams have posted one of the worst records over the past decade and still have something to prove and then they might get some coverage. The tides may be turning however, as the Rams have two home games that will air on primetime. The first one is in week 4 against the 49ers on Thursday night and then the Rams play the Seahawks week 8 on Monday Night Football. If the Rams can win both of those games or at least make them close, more coverage could be on the way.

One thing is for certain, the league feels the Rams are on the rise and deserve some national recognition, but the experts and fans still don’t believe. The Rams either still have a year or two left until they are “ready” to compete, won’t be able to overcome the loss of Steven Jackson, last year was a fluke, or they are still the same old Rams. Well wake up NFL, because these are not the same old Rams.

The Rams shouldn’t have been ready to compete last year, but somehow they did. There were some bumps along the way because they had a lot of young players, but at the end of the season the Rams were only a game and a half out of a playoff spot which nobody predicted, not even the most die-hard Rams fans. One of those young players that stepped up last season was Daryl Richardson who showed that he has the potential to help carry the load at running back with Isaiah Pead. They wont be Steven Jackson, but they will get the job done. This team will prove that last year was not a one time thing and they will be a respectable team for years to come.

Jeff Fisher has brought a mentality to this team that many people seem to rule out and forget. Fisher took a team that was destined for failure due to a poor prior regime and Fisher had this team fighting every game and shocked many opponents in the process. The Rams only lost four games last season by double digits whereas the year before it seemed like the Rams were down double digits by halftime every game.

From what Ive been hearing the average fan and expert is predicting the Rams to win anywhere from 4-9 games. When somebody said that the Rams were going to win four games, I shook my head and called them crazy. The Rams are so much better than a four win team, and when somebody said nine, my thoughts were, you know Id be happy with that, but the Rams can do a little better. I think many Rams fans would back me up on this. This proves that the Rams are being underrated and everyone is writing them off as a small contender for a playoff spot if a contender at all. It’s always nice to see an expert who sees the Rams as they really are and thinks they are a playoff team. There are only a handful that do. Here is an article on nfl.com that has the Rams in the playoffs http://davedameshek.nfl.com/2013/05/14/the-2013-pro-shek-tions-offseason-edition/

The Rams were good last year and got even better this offseason. They solidified there offensive line and got Sam a big target in Free Agency. They also went out and got one of the best college football wide receiver duos as well as one of the best linebackers in the draft. The Rams have improved greatly from last year and will be ready to compete this year. How they aren’t being talked about is mind boggling. However, there is always a team that sneaks under the radar and makes their way into the playoffs. The Rams may just be that team this year. It’s almost better for it to be this way. NFL teams don’t have the Rams’ number like they will the 49ers’ or the Seahawks’. The Rams will be able to sneak under the radar once again this season and hopefully make it to the playoffs. Rams fans have seen it coming, but the rest of the league and the media have not.

The Rams still have a lot to prove this season, if they can be just as successful this year as they were last year, the Rams will start to get some recognition, however if the Rams have another year like they had in 2011, they will spend the next five years getting absolutely no recognition once again. The Rams have a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford, who finally has some weapons, and a top 10 defense. This team has the pieces needed in order to win. Jeff Fisher will have his team ready with a go out there a prove how good you are mentality, and don’t be surprised if one of the most underrated teams in the NFL rises to the challenge.