Steve Smith, Brandon Marshall, Wes Welker, Hines Ward, Derrick Mason, Donald Driver, Steve Breaston.  What do all those names have in common and why are they important to the Rams?  All seven of those receivers were wide receivers who had over 1,000 yards receiving last season and not one of them was selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.  This is important to the Rams and an important lesson to the NFL.  You don't need high draft picks at wide receiver to have high impact wide receivers.  All of the players mentioned above were after thoughts in the NFL Draft and all were very important to their team's success last season.

This is not to downplay the injury to Donnie Avery or to say that the loss of Avery for any significant amount of time will not hurt the Rams but it seems like a lot of fans are in full panic that the Rams will have no one to throw the ball too.  Is the Rams wide receiving corps thin and not as good as it needs to be?  Yes.  Is it the end of the world that Avery might miss the beginning of the season?  No.

Every year in the NFL, teams come up with wide receivers who make a big jump and become prime targets for their respective teams.  Someone on the Rams roster will have a decent season at wide receiver because this is the NFL and they are professionals and someone will make some plays.  Does it mean we will see production like we saw out of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt in their heyday?  No.

It might mean that Keenan Burton becomes a serious threat.  It might mean Ronald Curry fulfills some of his potential.  It might mean Laurent Robinson was worth getting from Atlanta.  It might mean someone we don't even have on the radar makes the big jump.  But the fact is someone will make a jump this season because I am certain that Marc Bulger is going to throw the ball this season at some point.

The other part of the Avery buzz that is baffling to me is the wringing of the hands that we lost this top notch receiver.  I think Avery can become a nice receiver but I don't think Avery will become an All-Pro type of a receiver.  Is he the best the Rams have on the roster?  Yes.  But he has not developed enough to consider him a game changer.  I don't think Avery will be a true number one receiving threat.

Stress fractures are a tough injury because they can nag for the rest of the season.  Hopefully Avery will shake it by the beginning of the season and it won't linger.  But if the Rams don't have Avery to start the season it is not the end of the world.  The Rams are certainly better with Avery on the field but someone had to stand up and become a threat if the Rams were going to be productive offensively this year.  Nothing has changed.  The Rams still will need that and hopefully we will start to see who that player will be Friday night in New York.

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