As of late, Greg Robinson has made the St. Louis Rams look idiotic for drafting him second overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. He leads all NFL offensive linemen in penalties this year with 15. G-Rob is also second in the league with all positions included. The only player ahead of him is New Orleans Saints CB Brandon Browner (23).  Coming out of Auburn, Robinson was quoted as the “most pro-ready offensive tackle” in 2014’s draft, hence why the Rams selected him with their second overall pick. Robinson did decent in 2014, as he played guard most of the time. But he was moved to tackle in 2015 and he clearly has not made a good adjustment.  Here’s a look at what the Rams could have done differently not only with their first round pick, but also throughout the entire 2014 draft. It was almost inevitable that the Houston Texans were going to draft Jadeveon Clowney so let’s assume he’s the only player off the board.

With the second overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select…….

Odell Beckham Jr. Wide Receiver, LSU

The Rams have not had a top tier wide receiver in years. Their WR core has been average at best and hasn’t been much since the Isaac Bruce-Torry Holt days. ODB exploded onto the scene his rookie year, finishing the season with over 1,300 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games. He could have transformed the Rams offense and a combo of Odell Beckham-Todd Gurley-Tavon Austin would have been deadly and the Rams offense likely wouldn’t be going through the woes it has in 2015.

Zach Martin, Offensive Guard, Notre Dame

Just as the receiving core has been weak for the Rams, the offensive line has been well, worse. They have struggled to pass block and can barely run block but Todd Gurley still breaks through and makes them look good, even though they are far from it.  Martin slid all the way to 16th overall to the Dallas Cowboys in 2014, but if you watched him play a game today, you’d think he was a top five pick easily. Martin does it all, run blocks, pass blocks, and whatever else is needed from him. Martin played so well in his rookie campaign in 2014, that he was selected to the Pro Bowl. He wouldn’t have completely transformed the Rams offensive line into the best line in the league, but they would certainly be better off than they are right now.

A quarterback

Now this author was thinking the same thing as most of Rams fans in the spring of 2014. “Sam Bradford is gonna stay healthy and lead the Rams to the promised land this year.” Well clearly that didn’t pan out and neither did Nick Foles coming to town in 2015. In 2014, the Rams could have selected former UCF QB Blake Bortles or ex-Lousiville Cardinal Teddy Bridgewater.  Bortles has really started to come along in 2015, as he has thrown for over 3,800 yards this season along with over 30 touchdown passes. The Rams haven’t had a quarterback throw 30 touchdowns in a season since Kurt Warner did it back in 2001 (sheesh). Bridgewater is doing well too, as he is on the verge of bringing the Vikings to a divisional title or at the least a playoff birth.

The Rams also had the thirteenth overall pick in the 2014 draft and selected Aaron Donald. It’s highly doubtful that the Rams or their fans would change anything about that pick.  Donald won rookie of the year in 2014 and also leads all interior defensive lineman in sacks this season with 11. That mark has him at fifth overall in the league in sacks.

2ND ROUND

With their second round pick (41st overall) the Rams selected DB LaMarcus Joyner from Florida State. Joyner has been a quality player for the Rams thus far and this author doubts that many Rams fans would think it was a bad pick. But here’s a few guys they could have chose instead.

A pick at two decent running backs

Now keep in mind, at this point the Rams did not have Todd Gurley or Tre Mason (they selected Mason in the 3rd round of the draft). Their number one RB at the time was Zac Stacy.  Currently on the board were running backs Carlos Hyde of Ohio State and Jeremy Hill from LSU. Both of which are starters, Hyde with the San Francisco 49ers and Hill with the Cincinnati Bengals. Had the Rams selected them, they likely would have won starting jobs.

Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback, Eastern Illinois

Garoppolo ended up being picked by the New England Patriots to backup Tom Brady. But what if the Rams selected him? Bradford went down and Jimmy G would likely have been second string. Could he have had a break through season and became a dynasty QB for the Rams? Keep in mind there is another quarterback in the NFL who is a top tier QB and from Eastern Illinois (Tony Romo).

Take your pick of a good WR trio

On the board at the time of the Rams second round pick were three receivers who have turned out to be pretty decent so far in their careers. Allen Robinson (Penn State), Jarvis Landry (LSU), and DaVante Adams (Fresno State). Of course if the Rams drafted ODB in round one, there would be no chance the Rams go WR in round 2. But just for kicks, imagine a trio WR group of Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and Tavon Austin. Doesn’t sound too bad now does it? Even throw Robinson or Adams in there and it still sounds pretty great.

3RD ROUND

Now I’m not going to go through every single pick the Rams had in 2014 and say who they could have or should have drafted. This here, the third round, is as far as we will go today.  In the 3rd round, 75th overall, the Rams selected running back Tre Mason from Auburn.

Richard Rodgers, Tight End, California

In 2015, Richard Rodgers has become a prime target for Aaron Rodgers. Maybe if the Rams drafted him, he would have become a decent target for whoever was at quarterback for the Rams. This also means the Rams wouldn’t be starting or hopefully throwing the ball to Jared Cook (big sigh of relief).

Telvin Smith, Linebacker, Florida State

Smith ended up falling all the way to the fifth round to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But in his short tenure there, Smith has become a reliable defender and is a starter. Smith has 122 total tackles this season, which is third in the league. Would have been nice to have him fill the void left by Ogletree with his injury and/or also to sit behind an aging James Laurinaitis and learn from him.

Obviously the Rams can’t go back and actually do a re-draft but just for thought, if they would have drafted like this article said, who knows where the Rams would be right now?

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About the author
Jeremy Bowen
Writer on the St. Louis Rams. Also occasionally talking about other sports going on in the St. Louis area.