5. Tavon Austin, WR #11
I mean seriously! How many years can go by with a guy who has this much talent packed into his tiny little body before he turns into one of the scariest weapons in the NFL? Tavon Austin’s skill set could see him on two different ends. He could be a return specialist and rival the likes of Devin Hester and Dante Hall, or he could become a multi-threat weapon at wide receiver/running back like Darren Sproles. It seems to be the biggest cliché surrounding Rams forums that the Rams didn’t know how to use Austin’s talents. In all fairness though, that is a legitimate argument considering Brian Schottenheimer has never had a player who had a style like Austin. In his rookie season, Austin had one play. Which unfortunately was a run straight up the middle. Not likely that he’s going to truck through NFL sized line backers. In his second season, Austin was used mostly on a sweep from his wide receiver position coming in behind the QB and taking the ball around the edge. It worked out a few times because he has the speed to do it, but when that’s the only way he gets the ball, the defense quickly catches on and stops it. Well the Rams now have a new Offensive Coordinator that goes by Frank Cignetti. An interesting thing that Cignetti said during a press conference is that the Rams plan on using Tavon Austin in more ways. Before we cast thing young man out and say that he can’t play in this league, let’s see what a different coordinator can do with him. After all, the Rams did move up to grab him. It’s only fair that we not only give him another offensive coordinator, but also a full season with an actual starting QB. Austin played just 7 games with Sam Bradford. Every receiver on the roster likely saw their production drop with balls being thrown by Kellen Clemens, Shaun Hill, and Austin Davis. With that argument, I’d say it’s fair to say that all of the St. Louis Ram’s receiver deserve a season with a starting QB before we declare that they can’t help the Rams win.
Follow Joe Branham on Twitter (@jtbranham)
