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To keep me occupied (and to give us a break from the Goff vs Wentz debates), I thought we could take a look back at some of our notable picks throughout our history. Today we are all about the number 9.
Our first number 9 is the 9th pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, Mike Fanning, a defensive tackle, out of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Fanning (a Second-Team All-American) totaled 164 tackles and started at DT in '73 and '74. Notre Dame's defense was ranked 2nd in the nation in '73 and the Irish won the National Championship.
The Rams drafted Fanning to replace Merlin Olsen (who was beginning his 14th season in 1975). In '76, Fanning tallied 4 sacks while being in spot duty for Olsen. Fanning became the starter in '79 after Cody Jones was injured and recorded 8 sacks as the Rams made the Super Bowl. Fanning followed up his 1979 campaign with a 10 sack season in '80. Fanning led the Rams with 5 sacks in the strike-shortened '82 season. Fanning was then traded to Detroit and played one year with the Lions. The Seahawks picked Fanning up in '84 and Fanning recorded 7 sacks.
Fanning played in 137 games in the NFL, achieving 42 and 1/2 sacks and 1 safety in his career.
He wore #79 and #74.
Our second number 9 is 1981's 9th draft pick, linebacker Mel Owens from Michigan. As a Wolverine, Owens started three games during his redshirt freshman and sophomore years. In 1979, Owens started the entire season recording 42 tackles and 26 assists in 12 games. During his senior season, Owens started 11 of the 12 games and tallied 52 tackles, 37 assists and an interception. Owens was a first-team All-Big Ten Conference Player.
After spending his time on special teams for 1981 and most of 1982, Owens made his first start against the Raiders in week 16 of the '82 season. He recorded 10 tackles before leaving with a knee injury. In '83, Owens became a full starter and tallied 83 tackles and 4 sacks. In '84, he recorded 79 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 int, 1 forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries. His '85 campaign saw 68 tackles and 9 sacks. In 1986, Owens was an honorable mention All-Pro by the AP and the Rams defense was in the NFL's top 5 for the second year in a row. Owens was also the NFC Defensive Player of the Week in week 3 of '86. From '83 - '87, Owens started every non-strike game. Owens retired after the 1989 season. He totaled 453 tackles, 26.5 sacks, and 4 interceptions while staying with the Rams through his NFL career. Owens wore #58.
Please feel free to leave comments, especially any memories or thoughts about these players. Both of these guys played before I was born so I'm just using facts and statistics off Wikipedia and NFL.com.
Our first number 9 is the 9th pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, Mike Fanning, a defensive tackle, out of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Fanning (a Second-Team All-American) totaled 164 tackles and started at DT in '73 and '74. Notre Dame's defense was ranked 2nd in the nation in '73 and the Irish won the National Championship.
The Rams drafted Fanning to replace Merlin Olsen (who was beginning his 14th season in 1975). In '76, Fanning tallied 4 sacks while being in spot duty for Olsen. Fanning became the starter in '79 after Cody Jones was injured and recorded 8 sacks as the Rams made the Super Bowl. Fanning followed up his 1979 campaign with a 10 sack season in '80. Fanning led the Rams with 5 sacks in the strike-shortened '82 season. Fanning was then traded to Detroit and played one year with the Lions. The Seahawks picked Fanning up in '84 and Fanning recorded 7 sacks.
Fanning played in 137 games in the NFL, achieving 42 and 1/2 sacks and 1 safety in his career.
He wore #79 and #74.
Our second number 9 is 1981's 9th draft pick, linebacker Mel Owens from Michigan. As a Wolverine, Owens started three games during his redshirt freshman and sophomore years. In 1979, Owens started the entire season recording 42 tackles and 26 assists in 12 games. During his senior season, Owens started 11 of the 12 games and tallied 52 tackles, 37 assists and an interception. Owens was a first-team All-Big Ten Conference Player.
After spending his time on special teams for 1981 and most of 1982, Owens made his first start against the Raiders in week 16 of the '82 season. He recorded 10 tackles before leaving with a knee injury. In '83, Owens became a full starter and tallied 83 tackles and 4 sacks. In '84, he recorded 79 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 int, 1 forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries. His '85 campaign saw 68 tackles and 9 sacks. In 1986, Owens was an honorable mention All-Pro by the AP and the Rams defense was in the NFL's top 5 for the second year in a row. Owens was also the NFC Defensive Player of the Week in week 3 of '86. From '83 - '87, Owens started every non-strike game. Owens retired after the 1989 season. He totaled 453 tackles, 26.5 sacks, and 4 interceptions while staying with the Rams through his NFL career. Owens wore #58.
Please feel free to leave comments, especially any memories or thoughts about these players. Both of these guys played before I was born so I'm just using facts and statistics off Wikipedia and NFL.com.
