ST. LOUIS (AP) - The St. Louis Rams addressed their greatest area of need with the first pick of the second round of the NFL draft, taking wide receiver Brian Quick of Appalachian State on Friday night.
The 6-3, 222-pound Quick had 71 receptions for 1,096 yards and a 15.4-yard average and 11 touchdowns his senior season with seven 100-yard games. Former Rams wide receiver greats Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt announced the No. 33 overall pick.
The Rams had three picks in the second round and wasted no time getting a pass catcher for Sam Bradford, the top pick of the 2010 draft. Wide receiver has been the Rams' biggest weakness the last several years, and Quick was among several receivers to make visits to St. Louis.
St. Louis then took a player with character issues, cornerback Janoris Jenkins of North Alabama, with a pick acquired from the Redskins in the deal for the second overall pick. Jenkins was a three-year starter at Florida who was kicked off the team in April 2011 after his third arrest in less than two years and second in four months, the last two on marijuana charges.
Jenkins joins a defense minus its coordinator. The NFL suspended Gregg Williams indefinitely for his role in the Saints' bounty scandal.
New head coach Jeff Fisher, himself a former defensive coordinator, has said the defense will be run by committee. Assistant head coach Dave McGinnis and secondary coach Chuck Cecil also are former defensive coordinators.
The third of the second-rounders went to Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead, a potential backup behind two-time Pro Bowler Steven Jackson. The 5-11, 200-pound Pead ran for 1,259 yards with a 5.3-yard average and 12 touchdowns last year with five 100-yard games. He added 39 receptions with an 8.2-yard average and three TDs. Pead also rushed for 1,000 yards his junior year.
The Rams were foiled in their efforts to draft a wide receiver in the first round when Jacksonville traded up and snatched Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State with the fifth pick. The Rams traded down eight picks with the Dallas Cowboys, getting the Cowboys' second-rounder, and missed a shot at a second wide receiver, Michael Floyd, by one pick.
The Rams took defensive tackle Michael Brockers of LSU in the first round, making the defensive line perhaps their strongest unit. Brockers joins a pair of former first-rounders, ends Chris Long and Robert Quinn.
Danny Amendola is the top returning wide receiver for St. Louis. Amendola caught 85 passes in 2010 out of the slot, but missed virtually all of last season with a dislocated left elbow. Steve Smith signed a one-year deal also coming off an injury.
Quick holds the school record with 202 receptions with a 16.9-yard average and 31 touchdowns. He also fielded four onside kicks and blocked one kick.
The 5-9, 190-pound Jenkins had been considered one of the top cornerbacks in the Southeastern Conference. Some mock drafts had Jenkins possibly going in the first round, but he dropped to the second day due to character issues. Police used a stun gun when arresting Jenkins in May 2009, and he was charged resisting arrest without violence.
Jackson is coming off his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season and has showed no signs of slowing down. But the Rams have lacked a quality change of pace back for several years.
The Rams traded down with Chicago before taking Pead, and got the Bears' fifth-round pick.