Following the season-ending ACL injury to Sam Bradford, the St. Louis Rams’ search for a short-term fix at quarterback included reaching out to the agent of Brett Favre, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday. While Favre’s assertion that he has no interest in staging an NFL comeback took some drama out of that situation, how the Rams approach their long-term decision at QB remains an intriguing subject.
Independent of the issue of Bradford’s health, which is obviously a factor the team will need to consider, there are legitimate questions as to whether he should be considered the long-term answer. When he has been healthy, he hasn’t yet played up to the potential he showed as a former No. 1 overall draft pick.
However, after studying Bradford’s performance and the Rams’ personnel on the tape of several of the team’s games so far this season, I feel as though a healthy Bradford is capable of being St. Louis’ franchise QB, and that the team would be better off focusing on building up the supporting cast around him on offense, including in the 2014 NFL draft, than trying to start over with a new quarterback.
Before I get into the details of why, I feel it’s important to point out that my only objective here was to study Bradford’s performance prior to his injury this season to get a sense for his development and see if he still possesses the mental and physical skill set to emerge as a good starting QB in the NFL (as I thought he would when I gave him a very high draft grade coming out of Oklahoma). Rams GM Les Snead and his staff have a far greater understanding of their personnel than I do or anyone else outside the organization does, and more factors will go into their QB decision than what can be seen on the field.
But based on what I’ve seen on tape, my conclusion is that he does have what it takes to be a good starting NFL quarterback, both because of his physical tools and the fact that a lot of the offense’s struggles can be attributed to some issues with the supporting cast around him.
Bradford demonstrates a quick release and good accuracy, as he shows good anticipation and ball placement. He does a very good job with his mental clock and getting the ball out on time. He is also willing to hang in the pocket and make throws with pressure in his face. He’s accurate on the run, especially rolling right, and when he has time he shows the ability to make throws down the field.
Unfortunately, he hasn’t had much time to throw this season, because of porous pass protection from the offensive line, and he is often forced to get rid of the ball quickly. In particular, left guard Chris Williams and Joe Barksdale, who has filled in at right tackle for the games Rodger Saffold has missed with injury, have struggled. Obviously, this is a better unit when Saffold is healthy, but overall this is not a great unit.
The Rams’ pass-catchers are another area of concern. There is a lot of talent in this young group -- in particular, Chris Givens shows some good run-after-catch ability, Brian Quick has produced some big plays and TE Jared Cook has the tools to be a difference-maker. But the unit has been inconsistent and has a significant problem with dropped passes.
The first two drives of the Rams’ game against Carolina last week (prior to Bradford’s injury) provided us with a microcosm of this offense’s issues. On the first drive, Bradford got the ball out on time on what could have been a deep strike to open the game, but the pass protection collapsed and his arm was hit while delivering the ball, resulting in a pick-six.
On the next drive, running back Zac Stacy gained 1 yard on a run after Barksdale couldn’t reach his block, then after a well-executed bootleg completion for 7 yards, Bradford made a perfectly timed throw to Quick on an 8-yard hitch route on third-and-2, but the ball hit Quick in the chest and fell incomplete.
Draft options
Taking these issues into account, as well as the fact that the defense is well-stocked with a number of young, promising players (Chris Long, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Alec Ogletree, Janoris Jenkins), where should the Rams be looking to improve in next year’s draft?
Unless Oregon QB Marcus Mariota is staring them in the face and they think he’s the next Andrew Luck (assuming Bradford’s health isn’t in question), I think they’d be well served to use their two first-round picks (theirs and Washington’s) to address other offensive need areas, rather than drafting another young QB and having to start over.
The first priority should be to improve the O-line. If they think both Saffold and Jake Long (by far the team’s best lineman) are long-term answers at tackle, then maybe they save their first-round picks for other positions and grab a guard in the second or third, but at a minimum they need to improve the depth and upgrade their third tackle.
They also need a No. 1 receiver, and having two first-rounders gives the Rams the luxury of being able to take a guy such as USC’s Marqise Lee or Clemson’s Sammy Watkins even though they just invested a high draft pick in Tavon Austin last season. As talented as Austin is, he’s a slot receiver, not a true No. 1.
Lastly, while I don’t think drafting a QB in the first round is the answer for them, they could look at a third- or fourth-round option such as LSU’s Zach Mettenberger or Georgia’s Aaron Murray. Given Bradford’s injury history to this point in his career, they need to have a backup who they’re confident in, and grabbing a rookie with developmental upside could be easier than finding a serviceable veteran willing to take a backup job.
The bottom line is that while Bradford is far from perfect, I think he’s capable of being a very good QB for the Rams. You can see the plan with this team, and I honestly don’t think they’re as far away from being a good team as their production would indicate. It was clear that Bradford and his receivers were growing more comfortable with one another every week, and my feeling is that had Bradford not been hurt we would have started seeing some really promising signs for next season by the end of this year. If Bradford comes back healthy, the receivers continue to develop and they can shore up the line over the offseason, the Rams could be close to contender status in the NFC next season.