Getty Cooper Kupp and Rams general manager Les Snead share a hug after Super Bowl 56.
The Los Angeles Rams have found a new reason to get their fans glued to the television screens and their smartphones when pick No. 104 arrives of Friday, April 29.
It’s not who the Super Bowl 56 champions will pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s who is making the pick.
The Franchise Legend Announcing the Selection
The Rams are calling on Steven Jackson to announce their selection in the draft.
Jackson knows the draft process well. The Rams, then in St. Louis, made the towering and punishing 6-foot-2, 240-pound running back out of Oregon State their first round selection in the 2004 draft (No. 24 overall).
The Beaver standout was the first running back taken in that star-studded class. Among the fellow draft members from the ‘O4 group were: Eli Manning (No. 1 overall), Larry Fitzgerald, Phillip Rivers, the late Sean Taylor and Ben Roethlisberger.
Jackson went on to star in nine seasons with the Rams — producing eight 1,000-yard seasons. In half of those seasons he crossed the century mark, Jackson topped 1,145 yards according to Pro Football Reference. He scored four touchdowns or more in every year in St. Louis.
Jackson was also selected to three Pro Bowls in his career. He went on to rack up 11,438 yards and scored 69 career touchdowns in 12 seasons in the league. But 10,138 of those yards and 56 of those end zone trips came when he was wearing the Rams horns.
Jackson Reflects on How Far His City Has Come
Jackson made an appearance on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” draft coverage on Thursday morning.
This installment of the draft hits home for Jackson. Not only did he go through the process himself, but the draft is being held in his home town of Las Vegas.
Peter Schrager brought up a period when Sin City wasn’t considered a major football hub especially from a recruitment standpoint. But now, recruiting has changed, there’s an NFL franchise in Vegas and the draft has arrived to his home land.
“It’s unreal,” Jackson first told Schrager. “The city is excited as you can imagine. I think this draft is going to be one that will be remembered. But as a kid growing up, as you stated, we’re not known for athletics around here. So to be tip of the sphere — now having the Aces here and having the Raiders here — it’s great times and it’s a great way for the city to be seen outside of the strip.”
Jackson has seen an uptick of NFL interest in Sin City.
“There’s definitely an uptick. But there’s always fans of the NFL around town,” Jackson said.
Jackson got the chance to go down memory lane on his draft night 18 years ago. How did he and his family feel he was viewed on draft night?
“We definitely got overlooked,” Jackson said. “We were hoping to be top 10 and we opted to stay home and we did the live stream from home. And that was stressful enough — the cameras are on you and they don’t turn off. But it was an exciting day once the Rams decided that they were going to pull the trigger, trade up and swap with the Cincinnati Bengals and selected me to be their running back.”
Did Jackson get caught by surprise by the Rams’ aggressiveness on that draft day?
“It was not expected,” Jackson said. “But it was a place that I felt was a great landing spot for me. I had the chance to play with a lot of great players…Hall of Famers now, but future Hall of Famers then.”
Catching up with one of the steals from the 2004 first round…
@PSchrags talks draft with former 24th overall pick Steven Jackson.
It’s not the first time Jackson selected for the Rams. He was last seen announcing the team’s third round selection in the 2017 draft. And the man he announced? A young wide receiver named Cooper Kupp.