In no other year has the No. 33 pick held so much value than it does in the 2010 NFL Draft. That’s because general managers will have nearly 24 hours to think about how the player they covet is still on the board and there for the taking.

In the NFL’s new draft format, the second round will take place tonight at 6:30PM ET. Normally, the first and second rounds are back-to-back, leaving teams little time to wheel and deal at the top of the second round. But thanks to the lapse in between the first two rounds, the Rams have probably been fielding calls for the past two days about the No. 33 overall pick.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bills and Browns have contacted the Rams about trading up to the top spot in the second round. Buffalo has its eyes set on Jimmy Clausen, while Cleveland wants Colt McCoy. Both teams are probably desperate, seeing as how they want to get ahead of Kansas City at No. 36. That’s great news for St. Louis, which can leverage their pick, pit the Browns and Bills against each other and not fall back too far in the second round. (Cleveland has the No. 38 pick, while Buffalo has No. 41.)

Of course, if the Rams don’t trade the pick, they’ll have some pressure on their shoulders to nab an eventual starter. After all, somebody wants that pick and if St. Louis doesn’t parlay it into extra selections, then it better land a damn good player.

Update: The Cleveland Plain Dealer disputes the report that the Browns have contacted the Rams about the No. 33 pick.

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It’s become public knowledge that Mike Holmgren thinks very highly of quarterback Sam Bradford. How high is he on Bradford? According to ESPN.com, Holmgren is willing to part with most of his 2010 picks and even a pick or two next year in order to move up to the No. 1 spot to take Bradford.

Holmgren declined to delve into specifics as far as his offer to the Rams, but indicated he would be willing to part with most — but likely not all — of the Browns’ 10 picks and perhaps a pick or picks next year for the consensus No. 1 quarterback in this year’s draft. Holmgren, however, is not optimistic that the Rams will pull the trigger on a trade. “They shouldn’t do it,” he said. “They need a quarterback more than anyone in the world.”

Holmgren said the Browns already have had three or four conversations with the Rams regarding the top pick. With St. Louis being somewhat coy about its intentions, and with no contract in place with Bradford, Holmgren will make one last run at Bradford.

“It’s not going to happen,” Holmgren said. “I just got out of a meeting and I told everyone, let [the board] come to us. That said, I’m going to go make the call.”

It’s amazing that Holmgen would share that kind of information just hours before the draft, but he must know that there’s no way the Rams are parting with the pick and therefore, it doesn’t matter what he says. Plus, if he lets the world know that he wants a quarterback, maybe another team will want to trade up to Cleveland’s spot at No. 7 in order to take Jimmy Clausen.

Things are starting to get interesting as we head into the first round.

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Let’s kick this NFL draft day off with a juicy rumor, shall we?

According to NFL.Fanhouse.com, the Redskins are still in discussions with the Rams about a trade up to the No. 1 overall spot. Per the article, Washington has its sights set on quarterback Sam Bradford.

After trading for Donovan McNabb on Easter Sunday, everyone crossed off quarterback from the Redskins’ draft wish list. But since they’ve been unable to extend McNabb’s contract thus far, there’s growing sentiment that Washington will still take a quarterback so Mike Shanahan can groom him for the 2011 season.

The idea makes sense on the surface, but why would the Redskins trade for McNabb and then immediately cause a controversy by taking a quarterback in the first round? I’m sure their intentions have always been to extend McNabb’s contract and they’re not going to have success doing that if they draft his replacement less than a month after acquiring him from Philadelphia. It just doesn’t make sense.

The more likely scenario would be that the Redskins stay at No. 4 and take an offensive tackle like Russell Okung or Trent Williams. Then they can continue to work on McNabb’s contract extension throughout the next couple of months.

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John Czarnecki of FOXSports.com writes that Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo would take Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy with the No. 1 overall pick if the draft were today.

If the draft was today, the Rams would select Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy because he is the player that head coach Steve Spagnuolo likes better. Fortunately for Rams fans who want a quarterback after passing on Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez the past two Aprils, the team has seven weeks to change Spags’ mind. McCoy’s OU teammate, quarterback Sam Bradford, plans to throw and show off his surgically repaired right shoulder on March 25. A year ago, Bradford was the consensus top quarterback, ahead of Matthew Stafford, but he opted to return to play college football.

Right, and last week the Rams were all set on Sam Bradford. Next week, someone will report that the Rams are desperate to trade out of the top spot and the week after that they’ll be set on Dez Bryant.

I’m not ragging on Czarnecki’s report, but it is that time of year (i.e. the time of year in which all information must be taken with a grain of salt). There’s a very good chance that the Rams don’t know who they’re going to take and why should they? The draft is still roughly two months away and I’m sure Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney are pondering all of their options – as they should.

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Oh, the rumor mill is churning now that the NFL scouting combine has kicked off.

In the wake of Adam Schefter’s prediction that the Rams are set to take quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick, ESPN.com is reporting that the Redskins may want to trade up to the top spot so that they could nab the Oklahoma product.

With word that the Rams might be taking Sam Bradford No. 1 overall this April, the other team that thinks quite highly of him risks missing out. We’ve been hearing for a while now that the Redskins value Bradford as a potential franchise QB, and he would not get past their spot in the first round.

Speaking to the press at the draft combine, Rams GM Billy Devaney indicated that the team was still weighing the merits of Ndamukong Suh vs. Gerald McCoy, as well as Bradford vs. Jimmy Clausen. In order for the Redskins to ensure that they could get Bradford — and all indications seem to indicate that they value him ahead of Clausen — they might need to trade up to that No. 1 slot. Bradford’s price tag as the No. 1 overall pick might not be an issue for perennial big spender Daniel Snyder, especially if Mike Shanahan sells him on Bradford as a legit stud.

If the Rams have Clausen rated ahead of Bradford, this makes sense. But if they don’t, then there’s no way St. Louis is going to pass on a franchise quarterback that they like in order to take a franchise quarterback that they kind of like. The Rams hold the cards here – not the Redskins.

That said, if the Rams have Bradford and Clausen rated similarly, then it makes sense that St. Louis would want to trade down to acquire more picks and still have a shot to take a franchise quarterback at No 4 (which is where the Redskins pick).

It’s way to early to tell what intentions the Rams have with the top pick, but I love that the NFL draft rumor train is now picking up steam.

In other Redskins-related news, Mike Shanahan indicated on Friday that Clinton Portis will be his running back in 2010, despite rumors that the team would like to rid themselves of the 28-year-old back.

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter told a St. Louis radio station that the Rams will select quarterback Sam Bradford with the No. 1 overall pick this year. The caveat is that Schefter wasn’t reporting the news, but merely making a prediction.

Schefter is always good for information around this time of year, so I wouldn’t doubt it if the Rams did take Bradford No. 1. After all, they do need a quarterback and if Steve Spagnuolo and his staff feel as though the Oklahoma product is a franchise-type signal caller, then it will be hard for them to pass.

Schefter also noted that St. Louis is reluctant to pay No. 1 money to a defensive player such as Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy. Of all the Rams’ many needs, defensive tackle isn’t necessarily a high priority so it makes sense that the Rams would pass on Suh and McCoy and take Bradford or Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen.

That said, GM Billy Devaney is familiar with former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick from their days in Atlanta. It’s not a stretch to believe that Devaney will send a draft pick to Philadelphia for Vick and then take Suh or McCoy with the No. 1 pick, seeing as how those two players are the best on the board. Drafting in the top 5 is a different animal, as teams usually throw out the word “need” and just try to acquire talent to restock their roster.

We’ll see if Schefter called this one come April, but as of right now there’s still a lot of mystery and intrigue involving the No. 1 pick.

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