Greatest Los Angeles Rams of All Time

The Los Angeles Rams have won championships and produced Hall of Fame players despite having been a nomadic franchise, setting up shop in three different cities

In the history of nomadic pro sports franchises, few can match the success of the Los Angeles Rams, who are in their second stint in Los Angeles but have also called Cleveland and St. Louis home at different times.

Even more incredible? The franchise has won a championship at every stop — first in Cleveland in 1945, in St. Louis in 1999 and most recently in Los Angeles in 2021.

In that long and storied history, some of the greatest players in NFL history have suited up for the Rams — household names who have defined the trajectory of the league as much as anyone who ever played the game. Here’s a look at the greatest Rams players of all time.

Honorable Mention: Torry Holt

Chuck Burton / AP Photo

Position: Wide Receiver

High School: Eastern Guilford High School (Gibbonsville, North Carolina)

College: North Carolina State

NFL career: St. Louis Rams (1999-2008), Jacksonville Jaguars (2009)

Career highlights: Super Bowl Champion (2000), two-time NFL All-Pro (2003, 2006), seven-time Pro Bowl (200, 2001, 2003-07), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, PFWA All-Rookie Team (1999)

Bottom Line: Torry Holt

Brent Clark / AP Photo

Few wide receiver tandems have lit up opponents like Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce did for the St. Louis Rams in the late 1990s and early 2000s when the two helped lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl win and a pair of NFC Championships.

Holt was stunningly consistent throughout his NFL career — in 11 seasons, he had eight consecutive years with over 1,000 receiving yards, led the NFL in receiving twice and never had less than 700 receiving yards in a single season. He also has the NFL record with six consecutive seasons with over 1,300 receiving yards and consecutive seasons with over 90 receptions — also at six.

10. Isaac Bruce

Paul Sakuma / AP Photo

Position: Wide Receiver

High School: Dillard High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

College: Memphis

NFL career: Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1994-2007), San Francisco 49ers (2008-09)

Career highlights: Super Bowl Champion (2000), NFL All-Pro (1999), four-time Pro Bowl (1996, 1999-2001), Pro Football Hall of Fame (2020)

Bottom Line: Isaac Bruce

Kurt Warner, Orlando Pace, Isaac Bruce, Marshall Faulk

Ron Schwane / AP Photo

Isaac Bruce scored 91 career touchdowns in 16 seasons, but the biggest catch of his career came on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIV that proved to be the game-winner for the St. Louis Rams against the Tennessee Titans.

In 2020, Bruce became the first player from the University of Memphis elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and finished his NFL career with 15,347 yards from scrimmage. He’s currently fifth in NFL history for career receiving yards.

9. Jack Youngblood

Doug Pizac / AP Photo

Position: Defensive End

High School: Jefferson County High School (Monticello, Florida)

College: Florida

NFL career: Los Angeles Rams (1971-84)

Career highlights: Eight-time NFL All-Pro (1973-80), seven-time Pro Bowl (1973-79), NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year (1975, 1976)

Bottom Line: Jack Youngblood

Kelvin Kuo / AP Photo

One of just six players inducted into the University of Florida’s Ring of Honor, Jack Youngblood dominated NFL offensive linemen throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, leading the NFL in sacks twice and helping the Rams win an NFC Championship in 1979. He was also an eight-time, NFL All-Pro and was selected to seven Pro Bowls.

Youngblood played his entire career for the Rams and is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame. He still holds the Rams record for most playoff starts (17) and most consecutive games played (201). Fun fact: He didn’t miss a game from his junior year of college until his final season in the NFL in 1984.

8. Orlando Pace

Luis M. Alvarez / AP Photo

Position: Offensive Tackle

High School: Sandusky High School (Sandusky, Ohio)

College: Ohio State

NFL career: St. Louis Rams (1997-2008), Chicago Bears (2009)

Career highlights: Super Bowl Champion (2000), five-time NFL All-Pro (1999-2001, 2003, 2004), seven-time Pro Bowl (1999-2005), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

Bottom Line: Orlando Pace

David Richard / AP Photo

The Rams got one of the most important building blocks in franchise history when they selected offensive tackle Orlando Pace No. 1 overall out of Ohio State in the 1997 NFL Draft. Pace would go on to start 165 out of 169 games for the Rams over 12 seasons

There’s certainly a debate to be had as to whether Orlando Pace or Walter Jones, the No. 6 overall pick by the Seahawks, was the better offensive player. Both are Hall of Famers, but without Pace, there’s no way the St. Louis Rams would have been able to win one Super Bowl and make it to another.

7. Eric Dickerson

Lennox McLendon / AP Photo

Position: Defensive Tackle

High School: Sealy High School (Sealy, Texas)

College: SMU

NFL career: Los Angeles Rams (1983-87), Indianapolis Colts (1987-91), Los Angeles Raiders (1992), Atlanta Falcons (1993)

Career highlights: NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1986), five-time NFL All-Pro (1983, 1984, 1986-88), six-time Pro Bowl (1983, 1984, 1986-88), NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team, PFWA All-Rookie Team (1983), three-time UPI NFC Offensive Player of the Year (1983, 1984, 1986)

Bottom Line: Eric Dickerson

Kelvin Kuo / AP Photo

Eric Dickerson (and his goggles) helped define the 1980s in the NFL. In his first seven seasons, first with the Los Angeles Rams then with the Indianapolis Colts, Dickerson made six Pro Bowls, five All-Pro teams and led the NFL in rushing four times. Dickerson was at his most dominant with the Rams and finished his career with more than 15,000 total yards of offense.

Dickerson’s 2,105 rushing yards in 1984 is still the NFL single-season record — Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson came within 8 yards of breaking the record in 2012. It will be interesting to see how quickly the record falls with the NFL adding an extra game to the regular-season schedule in 2021.

6. Jackie Slater

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Position: Offensive Tackle

High School: Wingfield High School (Jackson, Mississippi)

College: Jackson State

NFL career: Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams (1976-95)

Career highlights: Four-time NFL All-Pro (1983, 1986, 1987, 1989), seven-time Pro Bowl (1983, 1985-90)

Bottom Line: Jackie Slater

Kelvin Kuo / AP Photo

One of the more dominant and underrated players in NFL history, Jackie Slater went from being a three-time, All-SWAC pick at Jackson State, blocking for another future Hall of Famer in the late Walter Payton, to playing 20 seasons in the NFL, setting the record for the most seasons with the same team.

Slater’s four All-Pro selections and seven Pro Bowl selections aren’t indicative of what kind of player he was — those numbers should be much higher. However, his son, Matthew, has made a name for himself as a gunner and special teams player for the New England Patriots, making nine Pro Bowls in that role.

5. Merlin Olsen

AP Photo

Position: Defensive Tackle

High School: Logan High School (Logan, Utah)

College: Utah State

NFL career: Los Angeles Rams (1962-76)

Career highlights: NFL Rookie of the Year (1962), 10-time NFL All-Pro (1963-70, 1973-75), 14-time Pro Bowl (1962-75), NFL 1960s All-Decade Team, NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, NFL 75th Anniversary Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team

Bottom Line: Merlin Olsen

Merlin Olsen and Rams owner Georgia Frontiere

Wally Fong / AP Photo

Merlin Olsen was the oldest of three brothers in his family to play in the NFL and became one of the most dominant defensive linemen of all time, earning a staggering 10 NFL All-Pro selections and making the Pro Bowl 14 times in his 15-year career.

Olsen never got to play in the Super Bowl but was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982. He had a lengthy television career not only as a broadcaster but as an actor and pitchman for companies, most notably for 51 episodes of “Little House on the Prairie” and as a spokesman for FTD Florist for decades.

4. Marshall Faulk

John Bazemore / AP Photo

Position: Running Back

High School: G.W. Carver High School (New Orleans, Louisiana)

College: San Diego State

NFL career: Indianapolis Colts (1994-98), St. Louis Rams (1999-2006)

Career highlights: Super Bowl Champion (2000), NFL Most Valuable Player (2000), three-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1999-2001), NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1994), six-time NFL All-Pro (1994, 1995, 1998-2001), seven-time Pro Bowl (1994, 1995, 1998-2002), PFWA All-Rookie Team (1994)

Bottom Line: Marshall Faulk

Kelvin Kuo / AP Photo

Marshall Faulk was recruited as a cornerback out of Carver High in New Orleans, but his determination to play running back would turn him into a legend.

Faulk went to the only school that would let him play the position he wanted — San Diego State — where he was a three-time All-American and eventually the No. 2 overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Faulk spent his first five seasons with the Colts but became a superstar with the Rams, where he played his final eight seasons. He won three consecutive NFL Offensive Player of the Year Awards from 1999 to 2001, won a Super Bowl and was named NFL Most Valuable Player in 2000.

3. Deacon Jones

AP Photo

Position: Defensive End

High School: Hungerford High School (Eatonville, Florida)

Colleges: South Carolina State/Mississippi Valley State

NFL career: Los Angeles Rams (1961-71), San Diego Chargers (1972-73), Washington Redskins (1974)

Career highlights: Two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (1967, 1968), eight-time NFL All-Pro (1964-70, 1972), eight-time Pro Bowl (1965-70, 1972), NFL 1960s All-Decade Team, NFL 100th Anniversary Team

Bottom Line: Deacon Jones

AP Photo

One of the most intimidating defensive players in NFL history, it’s a shame that sacks weren’t recorded during Deacon Jones’ NFL career — probably because it was Jones who actually invented the term “sack” in the first place.

Jones’ devastating head slap move knocked many offensive linemen senseless during his career, and despite it not being illegal at the time, ear holing someone is about as dirty as it gets in football on any level. Jones died in 2013 at 74 years old.

2. Kurt Warner

Doug Mills / AP Photo

Position: Quarterback

High School: Regis Catholic High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

College: Northern Iowa

NFL career: St. Louis Rams (1998-2003), New York Giants (2004), Arizona Cardinals (2005-09)

Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2000), Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (2000), Two-time NFL Most Valuable Player (1999, 2001), Two-time NFL All-Pro (1999, 2001), Four-time Pro Bowl (1999-2001, 2008), Pro Football Hall of Fame (2017)

Bottom Line: Kurt Warner

David Richard / AP Photo

Kurt Warner’s career represents one of the greatest underdog success stories not just in the history of the NFL, but all of sports.

Undrafted out of FCS Northern Iowa (then Division I-AA), Warner started just one year in college before playing in the Arena Football League and stocking shelves in a grocery store at night.

His success there led him to NFL Europe, then to the Rams, where he won two NFL MVP awards and led the Rams to two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl win following the 1999 season. Warner also led the Arizona Cardinals to a Super Bowl and is the only player in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Arena Football Hall of Fame.

1. Aaron Donald

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

Position: Defensive Tackle

High School: Penn Hills High School (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

College: Pittsburgh

NFL career: St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams (2014-present)

Career highlights: Super Bowl champion (2022), three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2017, 2018, 2020), seven-time NFL All-Pro (2015-21), eight-time Pro Bowl (2014-21), NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2014), PFWA All-Rookie Team (2014)

Bottom Line: Aaron Donald

Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo

We can start having the conversation about where Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald ranks among the greatest defensive players of all time … as long as we can agree he’s already Top 10.

Donald, who is already a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, cemented his status as one of the all-time greats by leading the Rams to a Super Bowl victory following the 2021 season. He followed his Super Bowl win by re-negotiating his six-year, $135 million contract to add $40 million over the last three years, making him the first defensive player in NFL history to make over $30 million per season.