Top 30 Draft Selections in St. Louis Rams History

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

9. Grant Wistrom, DE, Round 1, Pick 6 Overall, 1998

Grant Wistrom did pretty much everything that a Top 10 pick should do for a team during his six-year run in St. Louis. After coming in and learning the ropes as a role player in 1998, he rose to prominence as a starter in 1999 and didn’t look back.

While his sack production wasn’t spectacular during the Rams’ Super Bowl Champion season in 1999 (6.5 sacks over 16 games), he had his best career season according to Pro Football Reference‘s Approximate Value. Wistrom had 39 tackles, two interception returns for touchdowns (including a 91-yarder), and a fumble recovery.

As far as the stat sheet’s concerned, Wistrom’s greatest productivity came during 2000, when he had 11 sacks and 63 tackles. He had another great season in 2001, recording nine sacks and 54 tackles. Wistrom departed for the Seattle Seahawks after the 2003 season, but he finished his Rams career with 91 games played (77 starts), 41.5 sacks, 283 total tackles, and five interceptions. He might not have been the flashy pass rusher that guys like Robert Quinn or Kevin Carter have been, but his consistent ability to create pressure helped the Rams to their only two Super Bowl appearances in St. Louis, so it’s difficult to find any faults with him as a first-round selection.

Next: 8. Robert Quinn