2015 NFL Draft: St. Louis Rams Select Oregon State QB Sean Mannion in Third Round
The St. Louis Rams have selected Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion with the 25th pick of the third round (89th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft. The selection was their second pick of the round, as they had previously picked Louisville offensive lineman Jamon Brown with the eighth pick of the third round. It was a bit of a surprise to see Mannion, who the Rams had ranked as the third-best quarterback in the draft, taken ahead of Baylor’s Bryce Petty and UCLA’s Brett Hundley, who were both rumored first-round candidates.
Mannion, a 6-foot-6, 229-pounder, should be a natural fit for the Rams since he ran a pro-style offense at Oregon State, often operating under center. He was a four-year starter for the Beavers, and though he was rather solid in each season, his best season by far was in 2013, when wide receiver Brandin Cooks broke out and became a superb number one target. During that campaign, Mannion completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 4,662 yards while throwing 37 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions.
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On the negative side, Mannion lacks much velocity on his deep ball, fails to be exceptionally precise on medium-length throws at times, and struggles with his footwork in the pocket. He has not shown a great awareness for approaching pass rushers and ends up taking too many sacks under heavy pressure.
In addition to their new starter, Nick Foles, the Rams have quarterbacks Austin Davis and Case Keenum on their current roster. It would seem to be a battle between those two veterans for a possible third quarterback spot on the 53-man roster this year, although whichever one of the two ends up making the team could be ahead of Mannion on the depth chart as he gets acclimated with the pro game.
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