Rams coach Jeff Fisher has said more than once this offseason that Sam Bradford is the starting quarterback in St. Louis, something that kept being necessary because the Rams kept finding themselves linked to Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel during the pre-draft process.
Fisher made another show of support for Bradford on Wednesday night, telling a room filled with revelers at the team’s pre-draft party once again that Bradford’s “our guy.” Bradford was standing next to him at the time, which would have made it quite awkward to say anything else although Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Fisher’s show of support was about more than avoiding an uncomfortable situation.
Per Thomas, Bradford was made aware of the Manziel “smokescreen” before it got underway and the team has always been intent on dealing the pick rather than bringing Johnny Football to St. Louis. There might be another layer or two to the smokescreens before the Rams pick Manziel and he reveals himself to be Tom Cruise while on the stage with Roger Goodell, but things don’t really have a Mission: Impossible feel at the moment.
There doesn’t seem to be much of a push from teams trying to move up for a quarterback, though, although the reportedly high price for the Texans’ pick could make the No. 2 pick attractive to teams looking for help at other spots on Thursday. That would be especially true if Jadeveon Clowney is available after Houston picks, but the Rams may also just have to accept the “high-class problem” of picking second overall.