Diamonds in the Rough: Rams Post-Merger Day 3 Offensive All-Draft Team
The good news is that no Los Angeles Rams fan is going to annoy you about his or her mock draft this time around. The bad news is that the real team's lack of premier draft picks is anything but a joke as the real selections loom.
Los Angeles continues to pay the bill for its "all or nothing" Super Bowl run, though such an ordeal is in its relative final stages as the draft looms. The Rams do not appear on the draft board until the 36th overall selection but they make a bigger impact on the third and final day in Kansas City, where eight of their 11 total selections lie.
In recognition of the Rams' empty pick cupboard in the early going, Rams Digest forms a new kind of All-Pro team, one made up of the blue and yellow's finest Saturday selections, beginning with the offense ...
QB: Pat Haden (7th, 1976)
The Rams have a bit of an uncanny ability to draft "cult classic" quarterbacks in the later rounds of the draft, including Doug Flutie (11th round, 1985) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (7th, 2005). But in terms of a direct impact for the Rams, no late-round passer has done more than Haden, who was perhaps destined to make an impact on Southern California football from the get-go as a USC Trojans alum and Rose Bowl MVP. Though his immediate successor Vince Ferragamo oversaw a Super Bowl run (his insertion brought about by a Haden injury) in 1979, Haden posted a 35-19-1 record as LA's starting quarterback and earned Pro Bowl honors in 1977. Medical woes eventually caused Haden to step away from the game in 1982 and enter broadcasting and law before a seven-year stint as USC's athletic director (2010-16).
RB: Robert Delpino (5th, 1988)
Perhaps foreshadowing the Rams' eventual move to St. Louis, the dual-threat Delpino came over from Missouri in the fifth round in 1988. Delpino scored half of his 18 career rushing touchdowns during a prolific 1991 campaign, where he finished eighth in the league in yards from scrimmage and served as a rare silver lining in a three-win season.
WR: Az-Zahir Hakim (4th, 1998)
Though Hakim's name occasionally gets lost when talking about the Rams' turn-of-the-century heyday, he nonetheless took on a starring role in "The Greatest Show on Turf." He scored a dozen total touchdowns during the team's first Super Bowl season in 1999 (second behind only Isaac Bruce) and was also the leading receiver in a futile Super Bowl XXXVI appearance against New England (90 yards on five receptions). Though Hakim was better known for his special teams efforts (which earned him an All-Pro nomination in 2000), he posted 2,032 receiving yards and 16 aerial scores before moving on to Detroit in 2002.
WR: Drew Hill (12th, 1979)
Hill is perhaps better known for his time with the Houston Oilers but he first came onto the professional scene with the Rams after he arrived in the 12th round from Georgia Tech. Though there were only mere hints of his future receiving prowess out west, the future Pro Bowler brought over his talents in the return game, finishing second in the league in kick yardage in 1981. The trade to Houston, which united him with quarterback Warren Moon, allowed him to break free in the receiving game, picking up 7,477 yards and 47 scores over seven seasons with the Oilers.
TE: Tyler Higbee (4th, 2016)
Some of the Rams' most recent day three gems still reside on the roster. After only seven seasons on the roster, Higbee has turned himself into one of the most prolific tight ends in franchise history, already ranking 12th in receptions with horns on his helmet (306, catching 68 percent of passes targeted to him). During the Rams' brutal, futile championship defense, Higbee's mere prescience was comforting enough as he was a rare Southern Californian to appear in all 17 games last season, which saw him set a new career-high with 72 grabs.
C: Rich Saul (8th, 1970)
The Rams called Saul long before AMC did and the Michigan State alum went on to pave the way for the team's high-powered rushing endeavors throughout the 1970s. Saul earned six Pro Bowl nominations over a dozen seasons in SoCal and was part of a family that became very accustomed to NFL Sundays: he and his brothers/fellow blockers Bill and Ron played a whopping 406 professional games between them.
G: Duval Love (10th, 1985)
Another former SoCal collegiate star destined for greatness in a horned helmet, Love's loyalties were powder blue rather than red. From his humble professional beginnings, Love went on to appear in 164 NFL contests and was later nominated to a Pro Bowl as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
G: Brian Allen (4th, 2018)
Allen is officially listed as a center, but a relative emptiness of candidates at guard and the Rams drafting him for his versatility while following Saul's footsteps in East Lansing made him a solid exception. He officially established himself as a member of the primary offensive line during the Rams' most recent run to champion glory and was rewarded for his efforts with an alternate invite to the 2022 Pro Bowl ... though he obviously had a much bigger game to worry about.
T: Fred Miller (5th, 1996)
The first Kurt Warner completion of Super Bowl XXXIV landed in the hands of not Bruce, Hakim, or Torry Holt but rather Miller, who caught a tipped pass on the first play from scrimmage in the 23-16 victory over Tennessee. Miller also flourished in his regular duties in that game, keeping stud rookie Jevon "The Freak" Kearse in check and allowing Warner to make Big Game history in peace. Ironically enough, Miller and Kearse became teammates when the former joined the Titans after the Super Bowl win.
T: David Edwards (5th, 2019)
When the Rams' name does come up at the upcoming draft, they'd be so lucky to find a valuable name like Edwards, who made his way to Buffalo last month. It didn't take long for the Wisconsin product and All-American to make his way into the starting lineup and he was on the line for the Rams' Super Bowl triumph over Cincinnati two seasons ago.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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