Apr 26, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Michael Brockers (LSU) is introduced as the number fourteen overall pick to the St. Louis Rams in the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Well, that didn’t go as planned. The Rams made a splash in Thursday’s first round of the NFL Draft by trading down from 6 to 14 and picking up Michael Brockers, a defensive tackle from LSU. The trade netted the team an additional second rounder, 45th overall from the Cowboys. The Rams will now have three of the first 13 picks on Friday.

First, let me say that I think Brockers is going to be a very good player and I think he’s a very nice fit for Jeff Fisher’s defense. He is still learning, but he’s already an excellent run-stopper, and his pass-rush skills should develop. He’s a nice player, and I really like getting another early pick.

With all that said, I’m really disappointed we didn’t end up with Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd. My guess is that when Jacksonville swooped in and stole Blackmon at five, the team made the trade thinking they could get Floyd or Fletcher Cox at 14. It didn’t happen because the Eagles traded up to get Cox and the Cardinals inexplicably took Floyd instead of Riley Reiff. That pick still doesn’t make sense to me considering Reiff fits their bigger need, but it really screwed us.

The good news is that we have three early picks on Friday and there are plenty of good players left. Some names to watch out for include OLs Jonathan Martin, Peter Konz and Cordy Glenn, WRs Rueben Randle and Stephen Hill (who I love), RB Lamar Miller and CB Janoris Jenkins.

Feb 26, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Lamichael James does running drills during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

The running backs are up here at the Combine Report, and I have to say that I was impressed with this group. With top back Trent Richardson not working out, I still saw some nice talent from those who were on the field. I don’t know how many top guys there are in this group, but there are some very solid players that can be had in the middle rounds. The Rams are going to need to get in the market for a back at some point, so I was very focused on this group during workouts.

Guys Who Impressed Me: LaMichael James, Chris Rainey, David Wilson, Doug Martin, Chris Polk.

There are some interesting guys in this group. James is a guy I have seen a ton of in college while he was at Oregon, and I thought he looked outstanding. He’s small and fast, and he’s going to be a Darren Sproles-type player in the NFL. The Rams could certainly use his game-breaking skills, and he will likely be available late second or early third. Rainey is another fast player who has a ton a highlight-reel tape from his time at Florida. Wilson, Martin and Polk all looked like they could be every-down backs at the next level, and Wilson was probably the most impressive back overall at the workouts. Polk is a guy I liked a lot heading into this thing, and he didn’t do anything to change my mind. Lamar Miller from Miami ran a 4.40 40 which was the fastest time in the group as well.

Guys Who Disappointed Me: Davin Meggett, Darrell Scott, Marc Tyler

Meggett ran a pretty solid 40, but I thought he really struggled with some of the workouts. I thought he might be a sleeper, but I don’t think he helped his cause. Scott and Tyler did not look good catching the ball at all, and I didn’t see a great burst out of him. Scott is a big back who also struggled catching the ball, but he is probably just going to be a power running if he gets to the league. Some of these route-running drills aren’t really fair to the big guys, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are the workouts and Scott and Tyler struggled.