The St. Louis Rams need a quarterback like Tom Cruise needs an image makeover. Head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead have done a good job of amassing young talent across the roster. The front seven on defense are especially terrifying. But this team won't enjoy its first winning season since 2003 without an upgrade at the quarterback position.
Could the Rams find that player in the upcoming NFL draft? ESPN's Todd McShay believes that Marcus Mariota could be in play for the Rams.
"But the team that intrigues me most right now is the Rams, current owner of the No. 10 overall pick," McShay wrote. "My biggest takeaway from the trade that sent Nick Foles to St. Louis and Sam Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles was that it could open the door for the Rams to move up to draft Mariota. I don't have any inside info on that, and I haven't heard anything, but it gets interesting when you connect the dots: They're now free of Bradford's huge contract, they have a good bridge quarterback in Foles, they added a 2016 second-round pick and they have a good, young roster that is more equipped to take the hit resulting from the loss of the multiple draft picks it'd take to move up to draft Mariota.
"Lastly, I know from talking to people around the organization last season that they had some interest in Johnny Manziel because of the added dimension he could bring to their running game. It's no secret Jeff Fisher wants a physical dimension to his football team, placing an emphasis recently on building up the offensive line and defense. Mariota could likewise bring a running element to the quarterback position, and he's a much better, more polished and cleaner prospect than Manziel was coming out of Texas A&M."
All of this is just pure conjecture, but it makes a certain amount of sense. The Rams are on the cusp of contention, and nabbing a potential franchise quarterback could put them over the edge. Several NFL scouts still have doubts about Mariota's ability to successfully transition to the next level. Those doubts are fair considering the type of offense he ran at Oregon. But Mariota also has elite athleticism and off-the-charts intangibles. If St. Louis is sold on him, it could make a move up the draft board.
