
In 11 NFL seasons playing for the LA Rams, WR Henry Ellard nearly broke the 10,000 receiving yards plateau, a level that only two wide receivers in franchise history have accomplished in their careers. Ellard was a favorite target of quarterback Jim Everett, and the pair combined for 8,067 yards and 37 touchdowns
At one point, Ellard put up over 1000 yards for four consecutive seasons and scored 25 touchdowns during that four-year streak for the Rams as well. He was a precision player, a receiver who could be counted on to be where the ball was going to be when it descended from the air to the football field. While not easy to accomplish, he was certainly appreciated by his offensive coordinators and quarterbacks.
Ellard was a solid-hands guy for the Rams and could catch a jump ball, a contested ball, or even those beautiful over-the-shoulder type of passes that hit the receiver in stride. Despite playing nine years for the LA Rams, catching 593 passes for 9,761 yards and 48 touchdowns, he would go on to play six more seasons in the NFL: Five years with the Washington Commanders and one with the New England Patriots.
He was a smallish but energetic young man who had excess energy to burn. His NFL career may have never gotten off the ground if not for family members encouraging his mother to let him play the very physical game of football to tire him out and burn all that excess energy. He was a huge special teams contributor, returning both punts and kickoffs for the Rams, until the 1988 NFL season when he put up 1,414 yards and ten touchdowns. That moved him out of special teams and to the offense exclusively.
Despite the soft hands, Henry Ellard possessed big-play potential throughout his LA Rams career.