St. Louis Rams As the St. Louis Rams prepare
to enter their third training camp under coach Jeff Fisher, much will hinge on
the ability of the team's many young players to turn potential into production.
St. Louis Rams In this final week before camp officially begins, St. Louis Rams
we take a look at some players who must take the next step either to preserve
their jobs, St. Louis Rams help the team reach its first winning record since
2003 or, St. Louis Rams to the team's preference, both. The Rams spent the
first pick of the second round in the 2012 NFL draft on the raw but talented
wideout from Appalachian State. St. Louis Rams Quick has tantalized on the
practice field with his combination of size and speed but has been unable to
consistently turn that into production. St. Louis Rams In two seasons, Quick
has appeared in 31 games with 29 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns.
Rams quarterbacks have targeted Quick 61 times in those games. To his credit,
the 6-foot-3, 218-pound receiver has become a solid blocker in the run game but
that has probably been his greatest contribution thus far. There was
little doubt that Quick would take some time to develop upon arriving in St. Louis. He was far
from a polished product when he got to St.
Louis after playing at a small school with little
experience running the NFL route tree or playing in a pro-style offense. But
the Rams spent a valuable pick on Quick with other, more accomplished receivers
on the board and did so despite the need for more production at the position. St.
Louis Rams They did it based largely on an impressive private workout in the
pre-draft process. They've been patient with Quick, St. Louis Rams hoping that
he would break out further into his career much like Tampa Bay's Vincent
Jackson, who profiled similar to Quick when he came into the league. It's now
Quick's third season and the time for talking about his development is about
over. St. Louis Rams The Rams need production from their receiver group,
regardless of who it is. St. Louis Rams Given his draft position and potential,
Quick making the leap forward would be a welcome sight. Quick is one of
about six receivers on the roster who figure to make the 53-man roster, St.
Louis Rams but this training camp should offer a fairly open competition for
how those wideouts fit on the depth chart. St. Louis Rams Chris Givens and Tavon Austin seem poised
for large roles in the offense but there is still plenty of room for Quick to
step in and stake his claim to an expanded role. St. Louis Rams It's folly to
expect Quick's step forward to result in a 1,000-yard, St. Louis Rams
10-touchdown season or something close to that but if he could exceed his
combined career numbers in the 2014 season and still provide solid run blocking
on the edge, he'd at least become a valuable contributor with solid footing for
the future. St. Louis Rams If Quick is unable to do much more than he has in
his first two seasons, it's fair to wonder where he fits long term, St. Louis
Rams.
