Michael Brockers To Rams With 14th Pick After Trade With Cowboys At 2012 NFL Draft

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Backed into a corner by the mad shuffling ahead of them, the St. Louis Rams added a big body to the defensive line by taking LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers with the 14th overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday.

The Rams appeared poised to take Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon with the sixth pick, then traded down eight spots after Jacksonville moved up to snatch Blackmon with the fifth overall pick. The Rams received the Cowboys' second-round pick in that deal, leaving them with three of the first 13 picks in the second round, including the first pick of the day Friday.

The Rams said Brockers was one of their top-rated players heading into the draft.

Brockers, a 21-year-old sophomore, had just two sacks in his lone year as a starter. The Rams released two defensive tackles, Justin Bannan and Fred Robbins, prior to free agency.

The defensive line is perhaps the strongest unit on the team, with former first-rounders Chris Long and Robert Quinn at the ends and tackle Kendall Langford signed in free agency.

Brockers started all 14 games at left tackle last season, helping the Tigers rank second in the nation in total defense with a 261.5-yards per game average. LSU also was second in the nation at points allowed with just 11 per game.

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• No. 1 Andrew Luck (QB, Stanford) - Indianapolis Colts

• No. 2 Robert Griffin III (QB, Baylor) - Washington Redskins

• No. 3 Trent Richardson (RB, Alabama) - Cleveland Browns

  Acquired via trade with Minnesota

• No. 4 Matt Kalil (OT, USC) - Minnesota Vikings

  Traded down with Cleveland to No. 4

• No. 5 Justin Blackmon (WR, OK ST) - Jacksonville Jaguars

  Acquired from Tampa Bay for No. 7 pick.

• No. 6 Morris Claiborne (CB, LSU) - Dallas Cowboys

  Traded up with St. Louis to get No. 6 pick.

• No. 7 Mark Barron (S, Alabama) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  Traded down from No. 5 to No. 7 (with Jaguars)

• No. 8 Ryan Tannehill (QB, Texas A&M) - Miami Dolphins

• No. 9 Luke Kuechly (ILB, BC) - Carolina Panthers

• No. 10 Stephon Gilmore (DB, South Carolina) - Buffalo Bills

• No. 11 Dontari Poe (DT, Memphis) - KC Chiefs

• No. 12 Fletcher Fox (DT, Miss. St) - Philadelphia Eagles

  Traded up with Seattle to get No. 12 pick.

• No. 13 Michael Floyd (WR, Notre Dame) - Arizona Cardinals

• No. 14 Michael Brockers (DT, LSU) - St. Louis Rams

  Rams traded down to No. 14 with Dallas.

• No. 15 Bruce Irvin (CB, WVU) - Seattle Seahawks

  Traded down to No. 15 with the Eagles.

• No. 16 Quinton Coples (DE, UNC) - New York Jets

• No. 17 Dre Kirkpatrick (CB, Alabama) - Cincinnati Bengals

  Acquire pick through the Carson Palmer trade

• No. 18 Melvin Ingram (DE, South Carolina) - SD Chargers

• No. 19 Shea McClellin (OLB, Boise State) - Chicago Bears

• No. 20 Kendall Wright (WR, Baylor) - Tennessee Titans

• No. 21 Chandler Jones (DE, Syracuse) - New England Patriots

  Acquired via trade with Cincinnati

• No. 22 Brandon Weeden (QB, OK ST) - Cleveland Browns

• No. 23 Riley Reiff (OT, Iowa) - Detroit Lions

• No. 24 David DeCastro (OG, Stanford) - Pittsburgh Steelers

• No. 25 Dont'a Hightower (ILB, Alabama) - New England Patriots

  Acquired via trade with Denver

• No. 26 Whitney Mercilus (DE, Illinois) - Houston Texans

• No. 27 Kevin Zeitler (OG, Wisconsin) - Cincinnati Bengals

  Acquired via trade with Patriots.

• No. 28 Nick Perry (DE, USC) - Green Bay Packers

• No. 29 Harrison Smith (S, Notre Dame) - Minnesota Vikings

  Acquires via trade with Baltimore.

• No. 30 A.J. Jenkins (WR, Illinois) - San Francisco 49ers

• No. 31 Doug Martin (RB, Boise State) - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  Acquired via trade with Denver.

• No. 32 Davis Wilson (RB, Va. Tech) - NY Giants

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Comments

[cybolt]

11:18 PM on 04/26/2012

Rams traded themselves right out of the draft.

I know they want help in a lot of places and they're collecting post first round picks, but they had Floyd right there... better than Blackmon imo and exactly the receiver Bradford needs.