Every NFL franchise has a memorable season or two in their history that it can brag about. The season that easily comes to the minds of St. Louis Rams fans is 1999. We remember the glorious wins, the highlight reels and winning the ever-elusive Lombardi Trophy.
However, there is still one event from that season that is often overlooked: the 1999 NFL Draft. The Rams certainly had impressive talent, but how many rookies contributed to the Super Bowl winning season? It’s that time of year after all, so let’s take a look back at the draft that finally brought it all together.
The franchise was putting a better team together one piece at a time. The Tony Banks era ended with the addition of Trent Green at quarterback. The Rams also eliminated the glaring need for a running back by trading for Marshall Faulk. After filling the major holes in the roster, it freed up the Rams to draft the best player available, which happened to be some guy named Torry Holt. Does that name ring a bell?
Round 1- Pick 6: Torry Holt WR/North Carolina State
All jokes aside, this was definitely the right move to make. The Rams already had a talented group of receivers with Isaac Bruce, Az-Zahir Hakim and veteran Ricky Proehl on the roster. However, another weapon was exactly what Green/Kurt Warner needed. Holt’s playmaking ability made him a viable weapon on the field. It was an added bonus that he was both a leader and a team player. The addition of Holt helped create the “Greatest Show on Turf” era. The possible future Hall of Famer finished his rookie season with 788 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Round 2- Pick 41: Donald Andre “Dre” Bly CB/North Carolina
The Rams featured a solid defensive front, but the secondary needed depth. Losing a 12-game starter at cornerback like Ryan McNeil didn’t help either. Todd Lyght and Dexter McCleon were the starters, but Dre’ Bly proved to be a serviceable backup. The addition of Bly often challenged offenses that liked to spread out the ball. Bly compiled a modest 16 tackles and three interceptions during his rookie year, but he had better seasons ahead of him, earning two Pro Bowl invitations while playing for the Detroit Lions.
Round 3- Pick 68: Rich Coady DB/Texas A&M
Rich Coady was drafted solely for adding depth in the defensive secondary. There was uncertainty at both safety positions and the idea in drafting Coady was to develop him into a possible starter. Unfortunately, Coady never met those expectations and spent his entire six-year career as special teams player and a backup.
Round 4- Pick 101: Joe Germaine QB/Ohio State
Trent Green entered the 1999 preseason as the centerpiece of the offense, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in an exhibition game against the San Diego Chargers. Head coach Dick Vermeil named Kurt Warner the starter, which made Joe Germaine the backup. Germaine’s career was a short one; he completed only nine passes during a two-stint with the Rams. The team released him following the 2000 season.
Round 5- Pick 145: Cameron Spikes OG/Texas A&M
Bringing in former Green Bay Packers OG Adam Timmerman determined when the Rams would draft another offensive lineman. Vermeil also had a lot faith in Ryan Tucker and Tom Nutten. They needed to add depth to the offensive line, which is why they drafted Cameron Spikes. Spikes played in 19 games during his three years with the club before finishing his career with the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals.
Round 6- Pick 176: Lionel Barnes DE/University of Louisiana-Monroe
The Rams had confidence in DE Grant Wistrom going into his second season, and Kevin Carter was in the peak of his career. To add a little depth at the position, the Rams added Lionel Barnes. He technically spent two seasons with the Rams but only played in a total of four games. He then went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Round 7- Pick 252: Rodney Williams P/Georgia Tech
Rodney Williams was drafted to make training camp and preseason more competitive for starter Rick Tuten. He was eventually cut before the regular season.
The Rams went on to win Super Bowl XXXIV against the Tennessee Titans, 23-16. This team shocked the NFL with an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record and outscored their opponents 526–242. This was the highest scoring margin of any Super Bowl champion.
Sources: Profootballreference.com
Image Credit: Chuck Burton
You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.
