2015 NFL Draft: Pick By Pick Mock With St. Louis Rams At No. 5

The pick-by-pick mock of the 2015 NFL Draft is well under way and four players are now off the board. The Oakland Raiders took Leonard Williams (DE/DT, Southern Cal) first overall, the New York Jets took Marcus Mariota (QB, Oregon) second, the Jacksonville Jaguars picked Cedric Ogbuehi (OT, Texas A&M) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Amari Cooper (WR, Alabama) fourth. With the fifth pick, who do the St. Louis Rams select?

Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State.

I can’t believe I’m actually predicting this, because of the infinite reasons as to why this guy shouldn’t be a top-ten pick, a franchise QB, a role model, etc. We all know the never-ending headlines he makes off the field and the boneheaded mistakes he’s made. I like to think that once he’s not being coddled, protected and given an untold number of ‘second’ chances by a coach like Jimbo Fisher, he might actually develop into a real man off the field and use his unbelievable physical talents for purposes other than getting out of trouble.

Let’s just assume for the sake of argument that the millions of dollars that goes into researching a prospect’s background comes back and shows that while he’s a major risk, he’s deemed an ‘acceptable’ risk. The potential reward could be franchise-changing. He’s that kind of talent.

He’s got all the skills necessary to be an elite QB in the NFL. Good size (6-foot 4, 230-pounds), has a terrific arm that can make all the throws, enough speed and mobility to make plays with his feet when necessary and has a gift for 4th quarter comebacks. He somehow always leads his team to victory no matter how dire things look. While he’s known for making unbelievably stupid decisions off the field, on it he’s a tremendous decision-maker. He rallies his teammates when they need to and displays wonderful leadership traits on the field and in the huddle. When he’s in the game, there’s no denying he has that ‘it’ factor.

This pick would make sense for the Rams because almost assuredly are they finished with former top pick overall Sam Bradford. There’s talent all over the field for the Rams except in the most important place: under center (no offense, Austin Davis, I’m still a fan). To have an opportunity to take a QB with Winston’s talents without moving up and giving up draft capital would be a major opportunity for the Rams, and it’d be hard to turn down.

Rick Stavig is an NFL Draft Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickstavig or add him to your network on Google+.