Getty Az-Zahir Hakim races to the end zone during a 1999 regular season game against the Carolina Panthers. His former teammate Isaac Bruce spoke highly of Hakim's career and impact with the Rams on his podcast "Ramblings" this week.
Long before a “cheetah” roamed Kansas City’s offense in the form of Tyreek Hill, Isaac Bruce mentioned a teammate of his who once resembled Hill during his “Greatest Show on Turf” days with the Rams.
Bruce reflected on his old teammate Az-Zahir Hakim with his co-host Marcus “Doc” Holliday on the June 30 edition of the “Ramblings” podcast. Holliday, who played at Memphis and briefly with the Rams with Bruce, mentioned toward the end of the podcast who is the one former Ram he would love to meet and show his respect toward. “Doc” blurted out Hakim’s name, exuberantly saying that when he meets Hakim, the words would be “I just want to say bro, you were a cold dude!”
Bruce then went down memory lane, even giving his former Super Bowl winning teammate his closest counterpart in the league right now.
“When you look at Tyreek Hill in Kansas City, you’re looking at Az Hakim,” Bruce said.
Hill has become a threat to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark with the Chiefs, topping the century mark in three of his last four seasons. Like Bruce and Hakim, “Cheetah” has appeared in a couple of Super Bowls, winning the 2020 big game. But interestingly, it’s Bruce who has gotten the comparisons to Hill by fans.
What Made ‘Az’ Who He Was
Stat wise, Hill actually has more career receptions than Hakim, with the former currently at 368 catches and the latter settling for 316 in his nine-year career. Hill also has more touchdowns and receiving yards.
But before Hill, Hakim was the one guy the Rams used in a variety of ways, with Bruce recalling his return ability and operating out of the ‘X’ receiver spot. The stats may not show how dominant Hakim was, but Bruce is a believer that Hakim was a big reason why the Rams offense was so explosive during his career.
“Now, some people say that he was more fast than quick. I’d like to say he was more quick than fast, Doc,” Bruce said. “This is a guy who can be in a phone booth with you and you’re trying to get your hands on him. You wouldn’t touch him.”
Az-Zahir Hakim was a BIG PLAY THREAT 🔥
A receiver and return man for the Greatest Show on Turf @RamsNFL, Hakim scored 14 TDs in 1999 and 2000, eight of them over 40 yards.
Hakim created his most success with the Rams, scoring 16 of his 28 career receiving touchdowns with the franchise and hauling in 148 of his career catches in St. Louis. During the Rams’ 2000 Super Bowl winning season, which was also his All-Pro season, Hakim averaged 18.8 yards a catch and caught eight TD passes from league Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner. He left the franchise as the all-time leader in career punt return average.
‘The Reverend’ Learned from ‘Az’
Bruce will soon enter the Hall of Fame as the Rams’ all-time leading receiver. But guess which playmaker he learned the most from?
“I’ve learned so much from Az Hakim man, as far as being able to release off the line of scrimmage and just mimic everything he would do to the point where it started working for me later on in my career at a very high level,” Bruce said. “I often would pull him to the side and say ‘Az, show me how you release on this guy right here: What’s your attack on this person right here?’ And it would be so fast, so quick and so explosive that I would be in awe just looking at that dude.”
Bruce adds that size was an afterthought when reflecting back on Hakim’s career, praising his strength along with his speed.
“He was all of 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9, but he was strong. One of the strongest dudes that I’ve been around. He and Tony Horne,” Bruce said.
Holliday wants to give Hakim his respect. Bruce saw Hakim earn it from his peers.
“Much respect to him and what he did for the league. He made a huge impact,” Bruce said. “Guys are still talking about what Az Hakim brought to the National Football League when he played.”
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Rams Legend Reflects on the One Teammate He Called a ‘Tyreek Hill’