Turf Show Times
Should the Rams have won even more “best draft pick ever” awards?
How many times have the Los Angeles and St. Louis Rams picked the best player of all-time at his draft number? Maybe we won’t find Jared Goff at number one, but the storied Rams franchise has made some of the best draft picks of all-time.
SI’s Matt Verderame shared his opinion of the best player ever picked at each position number in the draft and six times the choice was made by the Rams. Keep in mind this is in the common draft era (post-1967) so you won’t find Merlin Olsen or Deacon Jones, among others.
Do you agree with the six? Are there more?
13. Aaron Donald, DT, St. Louis Rams (2014)
Speaking of the best-ever defensive tackles, Donald tops that list. Suiting up for 10 years with the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams, Donald played like a man on easy mode in Madden. The University of Pittsburgh product was an eight-time first-team All-Pro while making the Pro Bowl every year he played. In 2021, he led the Rams to their first Super Bowl win in Los Angeles, posting 12.5 sacks (of the 111 for his career).
Donald beat out Franco Harris, Kellen Winslow, and Tony Gonzalez, but obviously it wasn’t close. Donald might be the best value in draft history and that’s as a top-15 pick.
20. Jack Youngblood, DE, Los Angeles Rams (1971)
Youngblood is largely remembered for playing much of the 1979 playoffs with a broken leg, but he’s so much more. The defensive end enjoyed a brilliant 14-year career with the Rams, totaling an unofficial 151.5 career sacks. He was also a five-time first-team All-Pro and was named the 1975 Defensive Player of the Year by the UPI.
Youngblood beats out Steve Atwater and that must not have been close.
Other players joined the Rams later in their careers — Andrew Whitworth and Aeneas Williams to name two — but these six were drafted by the Rams.
