Los Angeles Rams: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Even though his NFL career didn’t exactly get off to the most exciting start after only making 16 catches as a rookie in 12 games during the 1983 season while failing to earn a single trip into the end zone, Henry Ellard would eventually show why he was viewed as a top receiver in his time.

In a way, like most rookies, Ellard used that first season as a learning experience before taking a major leap during his sophomore NFL season that resulted in him making the Pro Bowl.

During that season, Ellard crushed his rookie season’s numbers by catching 34 passes for 622 yards to go along with six trips into the end zone. This helped Los Angeles earn a trip to the NFC playoffs before losing in the Wild Card Round to the New York Giants.

That 1984 season was actually the start of Ellard leading the Rams in receiving for 10 years in a row. This included four seasons in a row (1988-91) that Ellard had at least 1,000 receiving yards for the Rams.

Without question, Ellard’s 1988 campaign was his best season. He set career highs of 86 catches for 1,414 yards (NFL leading) to go along with 10 touchdowns. Los Angeles went 10-6 that season, although it would have been great to see them advance past the NFC Wild Card Round.

One can only imagine how different things would have been if Ellard didn’t end up on the Washington Redskins in 1994. He was still putting up solid numbers at that time, but at least Rams fans will always cherish the years leading up to that point.