Rams Select Rivals' Legend in 2008 NFL Re-draft

The NFL is an odd place sometimes. In 2008, the Rams, then in St. Louis, selected Virginia's Chris Long with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. Long, would embark on a successful 11-year career where he'd win two Super Bowls.

However, some view him as a bust for the Rams, and while Long was a solid player for the franchise, the lack of team success and the fact that he left right before things turned around paint an unfair narrative on his eight years with the team where he played in 96 consecutive games to begin his career, 114 games total where he recorded 54.5 sacks (a career high 13 in 2011, followed by 11.5 in 2012), and eight forced fumbles.

Unfortunately, Long's personal success never lined up with team success, and despite reduced numbers, there's a reason he's well-liked by Patriots fans and beloved in Philadelphia.

Therefore, in a re-draft of the 2008 NFL selection process, the Rams decided to select another defensive lineman, this time picking an Arizona Cardinals legend.

According to Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman, and Trevor Sikkema, the Rams should have selected Calais Campbell from the Miami Hurricanes second overall.

"Drafted in 2008 but still playing extremely well heading into 2025, Calais Campbell is the best non-quarterback in this class, wrote Chadwick, Wasserman, and Sikkema. "Campbell’s career got off to a solid start before he exploded into his prime in his late 20s."

"From 2014 to 2019, Campbell recorded a 93.1 PFF overall grade and a 94.2 PFF run-defense grade. His ability to defend the run has yet to wane, as he also led all interior defenders in PFF run-defense grade in 2024 (85.9)."

Unfortunately, PFF is right, and Campbell was the right pick. Not that it would have made much of a difference, considering the Rams during that time were turbo awful on offense but Campbell was a key piece on two All-Time defenses for two teams that historically have struggled.

A member of the Cardinals' No Fly Zone that made it to the NFC Championship Game and the Jaguars' Sacksonville that made it to the AFC Championship Game, Campbell has returned to the Cardinals for his 18th season as he's set to turn 39 years old this season.

Campbell has played in 261 career games, recording 110.5 sacks.