LA Rams: 15 greatest linebackers of All Time

Back in the time when the LA Rams kept and used their first-round draft picks, the team added inside linebacker Mel Owens (1981-1989) with the ninth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, with the intention of pairing him up with veteran Carl Ekern in the newly constructed 3-4 defense. Much like Ekern, Owens needed some time showcasing his ability on special teams before he was offered a starting role on defense in 1983. When that happened, he never looked back.

Owens was the prototypical outside linebacker for the LA Rams in that initial 3-4 defense. He ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and he could bench press 390 pounds. Powerful and fast, he set the bar for all of the LA Rams’ future linebackers at a very high standard.

He was the teammate of Carl Ekern, but unlike Ekern, this 6-foot-2, 224-pound backer played on the outside, where he chased down quarterbacks and flushed them out of the pocket. While he never earned a Pro Bowl nod, he was always capable of making momentum-changing plays in any game.

Despite recording nine quarterback sacks in his fifth NFL season, Ekern did not earn any NFL recognition. He did help the Rams to get to and compete in the playoffs that year.

Small by modern standards at the position, Owens was a huge brute of a player in his era and was incredibly adept at slipping past bigger offensive tackles en route to the pocket. The LA Rams loved to run the ball, and then beat the snot out of opponents defensively. Owens was a huge part of that dominating defense.