The Good, The Bad, & The Baffling

Sep 13, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams outside linebacker Alec Ogletree (52) celebrates after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 34-31 in overtime at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

It has been quite the disappointing decade for Rams fans and the St. Louis Rams organization as a whole.  The Rams have not had a winning record since the 2003 season, when they went 12-4, losing to the Carolina Panthers in double overtime of the Divisional Playoffs.  With all of these seasons of losing football, it’s rational to think that the Rams would have gained quite a few high draft picks.  If that was your first thought, you are correct.  Since 2004, the Rams have had 14 first round draft picks, including a number one overall pick in 2010.

Common sense would tell you that this organization must have stock piled a load of talent.  In fact, if this was your second thought, you would also be correct.  There is no doubt, a ton of talent has walked across the Radio City Music Hall stage in New York City, placing St. Louis caps on their heads and holding his fresh new Rams jersey. Unfortunately for these young men, it would seem that in the recent pass, the Rams organization is where young talent comes to die.

This topic will be highlighted on Sunday when the Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens.  Earlier this season, the Rams traded Chris Givens, a 4th round draft pick by the Rams, to the Ravens for a future seventh-round pick (NFL.com).  Givens had a breakout rookie season in 2012 with the Rams, when he had 698 receiving yards on 42 receptions in 15 games.  Not a bad first season.

He followed up his 2012 campaign with a decent 2013 season, where he had 569 yards receiving on 34 receptions.  From there, it was downhill for Givens in St. Louis.  The 2014 season was not kind to him.  This could be attributed to the unstable quarterback situation the Rams faced for all 16 games, though.  In 2014, Givens played in 14 games, only gaining 11 receptions for 159 yards.

There could be multiple variables that have played into the lack of production for Givens in the 2014 season, yet I believe the lack of player development by the Rams organization played into this complete drop-off.  After 3 games in St. Louis during the 2015 season, Chris Givens was shipped to Baltimore, where he is now listed as a starting wide receiver.  In 5 games for the Ravens, Givens has nearly surpassed his 2014 totals in receiving yards, receptions, and touchdowns.  Mind you, this is on a team that is not exactly an offensive powerhouse, and their young quarterback Joe Flacco is having one of his career worst years.

All of this brings me to the overarching problem the Rams have found themselves in for the past 12 years; developing highly talented players into reliable, productive NFL stars.  Let’s take a look at first-round drafts of the past for the Rams and breakdown what has happened to the promising young talent that disappeared.

Next: The trials and tribulations of the first-round