Rams Pre-Draft Position Overview: Quarterback

Aug 24, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis (9) looks to pass the ball during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Believe it or not, the draft is thankfully just over a month away. Leading up to the draft we are going to take a look at every position to see what the Rams have at the position, what the Rams need at the position, if they should draft somebody at the position, and lastly a position grade. To start things off, we will begin with the quarterback.

What The Rams Have

1. Sam Bradford

2. Shaun Hill

3. Austin Davis

Agree or disagree, Sam Bradford will be the Rams starting quarterback next season, as he is the only starting quarterback on the roster. Bradford was having a career year last year before going down with a torn ACL. 2014 will be a big year for Bradford, can he continue what he had going in 2014, or will he crumble and go down as one of the biggest busts of all-time, only time will tell.

Shaun Hill may have been the best pickup for the Rams this offseason. He is a backup quarterback with a lot of experience and if needed he has the ability to start. If Bradford goes down with another injury, or if by all means he struggles, Hill can get the job done.

Austin Davis has had his chances with the Rams, but just hasn’t taken advantage of them. The backup quarterback position was his for the taking last season and he failed to take it. Hypothetically, it could have been Davis in at quarterback for the Rams last season when Bradford went down instead of Clemens.  Davis will have his work ahead of him once again this offseason as the Rams very likely could draft another young quarterback.

What The Rams Need

Whether or not Bradford really is the answer at quarterback is unknown. We would like to believe he is, but he hasn’t gone out and proved that over the last four years. This draft has a lot of quarterbacks with a lot of experience, and the Rams would be wise to draft one of them.

There isn’t an Andrew Luck, or Robert Griffin III atop this draft, and the Rams probably won’t, and shouldn’t draft one of the top quarterbacks in this draft. However, as the draft goes on there are some quarterbacks that if they develop, could turn out to be good players. Those players being Tajh Boyd, A.J. McCarron, Aaron Murray, and Zach Mettenberger.

These guys aren’t guys that can start right away, but given time to develop and they could. The Rams would be a great situation given that the Rams have a veteran quarterback in Shaun Hill to help develop one of those guys, as well as Bradford, who isn’t a bad starting quarterback.

Should The Rams Address This Need In The Draft?

The Rams have 12 picks barring any trade that could make that number rise even more. I do believe they should draft a quarterback somewhere in rounds 4-7, and if they have any kind of luck, one of those quarterbacks mentioned above will still be available. Drafting a young quarterback will give Davis a little competition at the third quarterback spot and hopefully give the Rams a young quarterback to develop behind Bradford and Hill who could start at some point.

Grade: B-

The Rams’ quarterback system is really a perfect system. They have a solid starting quarterback, a backup that can get the job done if needed, and then they have a young developing quarterback behind that.

Bradford may or may not be the starting quarterback of the future, but the front office and coaches believe in him so for the time being he is going to be the starting quarterback. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as Bradford can be a decent starter.

Best of all the Rams have a solid backup quarterback in Shaun Hill. The backup quarterback position is an underrated position on an NFL roster, and thankfully the Rams have not treated it that way.

Behind Hill will be Davis or hopefully a rookie to develop. It would be the hope that one day, the quarterback in this spot becomes the backup of the future, or even better one day becomes a solid starting quarterback.