We have envisioned the NFL’s greatest superstars representing their hometowns, states and regions with lineups that transcend the history of football. Below, the best professional players from the Southland are represented through the prism of an all-time Los Angeles Rams dream team.
To explain the background of our Homegrown Legends, we discuss their high school and college roots in the article below. However, the selections were based
strictly on NFL performance. In most cases, hometown eligibility was determined by where an athlete played the majority of his high school career. Each team’s territorial draft area is slightly different, and
we explain our selection methodology in detail in this article.
So suspend your disbelief and imagine these superstars teaming up to rep Southern California on the field.
Link -
https://theramswire.usatoday.com/li...players-from-los-angeles-southern-california/
LOS ANGELES
QB Warren Moon
Moon is one of the best quarterbacks to step onto an NFL field, making nine Pro Bowls, leading the league in passing twice and winning Offensive Player of the Year in 1990. He was born in Los Angeles and attended Alexander Hamilton High School in L.A. before emerging as a star at the University of Washington and a five-time Grey Cup champion in the CFL. He then played 17 NFL seasons, including a decade with the Houston Oilers. He racked up 49,325 passing yards and 291 touchdown passes in the NFL and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
RB Hugh McElhenny
With long runs from scrimmage and dazzling returns, McElhenny ranked among the most exciting players of his day. He attended George Washington High in Los Angeles and the University of Washington before being selected ninth overall in the 1952 NFL draft by San Francisco. McElhenny would earn six Pro Bowl nods in 13 NFL seasons – five with the 49ers and one with the Vikings. He also played briefly for the Giants and Lions.
WR James Lofton
n High alum whose football journey would reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He received eight Pro Bowl nods in his 16-year career, racking up 14,004 receiving yards and 75 touchdown catches in the process. Lofton spent nine seasons with the Packers and later played in three Super Bowls with the Bills. He was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1978 draft out of Stanford.
WR Steve Smith
Smith was born and raised in Los Angeles and played at University High and Santa Monica College before emerging as a standout at the University of Utah. He was named to five Pro Bowls during his 16-season NFL career, compiling 1,031 receptions, 14,731 receiving yards and 81 touchdown catches along the way. Smith also recorded 1,001 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches in 11 career postseason games, including Super Bowl XXXVIII with the Panthers.
WR Keyshawn Johnson
Johnson is an Angeleno through and through. The L.A. native starred at Dorsey High, West L.A. College and USC on his way to becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft by the Jets. He would play 11 pro seasons, earning three Pro Bowl nods and winning Super Bowl XXXVII with the Buccaneers. Over the course of his NFL career, Johnson amassed 814 receptions for 10,571 yards with 64 touchdown catches.
TE Delanie Walker
Walker took a circuitous route to the NFL, going from Pomona High to Central Missouri State and back to the Golden State as a sixth-round pick by the 49ers in 2006. He emerged into one of the league’s most productive tight ends with the Titans, recording 356 receptions for 4,156 yards from 2013 through 2017 and earning Pro Bowl nods in his 10th, 11th and 12th seasons. Lewis edges out Long Beach Poly and UCLA alum Marcedes Lewis for the roster spot.
OT Anthony Muñoz
Muñoz, one of the greatest left tackles of all time, is an easy choice to anchor our offensive line. Born and raised in Ontario, he attended Chaffey High and USC. The Cincinnati Bengals made him the No. 3 overall draft pick in 1980, and Muñoz rewarded them with 11 Pro Bowl selections in 13 years. He a nine-time first-team All-Pro and played in two Super Bowls for the Bengals. Muñoz, who caught four touchdown passes as a pro, was named the 1991 NFL Man of the Year award for his work off the field and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
OT Tyron Smith
Smith has battled injuries in recent years, but he remains an elite left tackle with seven straight Pro Bowl selections since 2013 and two first-team All-Pro nods. Like Muñoz, Smith grew up in the Inland Empire and played college ball at USC. Still only 29, the alum of Rancho Verde High in Moreno Valley has a lot of tread left on the tires as a player and could one day make it to Canton if he keeps up his current level of play.
OG Larry Allen
Allen is widely considered one of the best offensive linemen in league history. He was a dominant guard for the Cowboys during his prime, earning spots on the NFL’s All-Decade Teams of the 1990s and 2000s. Allen made 11 Pro Bowls, was a six-time All-Pro, won Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013. The Sonoma State alum grew up in Compton and attended Centennial High as a freshman.
OG Max Montoya
Montoya hailed from La Puente High School and went on to make the Pro Bowl three times with the Bengals and once with the Raiders. He played 16 NFL seasons, starting 195 of the 223 games in which he played. Montoya played college ball at UCLA and was a seventh-round pick by Cincinnati in 1979.
C Bruce Matthews
Matthews is one of the most versatile and durable linemen ever to play in the NFL. He played every position on the offensive line and made 14 Pro Bowls in his career, tied for the most ever. His seven first-team All-Pro selections are equally impressive. Matthews, who attended Arcadia High and USC, missed just eight games over the course of his 19-season pro career.
DE Willie McGinest
McGinest, a cornerstone of the stingy New England Patriots defenses of the 2000s, is arguably the most prominent NFL player from the talent wellspring that is Long Beach Poly High. He wore the famed No. 55 at USC and was drafted No. 4 overall by the Pats in 1994. McGinest won three Super Bowls and was named to two Pro Bowl squads with New England. He had at least five sacks in a season nine times and recorded 16 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries during his NFL career, which included 12 seasons with the Pats and three with the Cleveland Browns.
DT Jurrell Casey
Casey is another athlete whose career path started at Long Beach Poly, continued at USC and blossomed in the NFL. A hulking interior lineman who clogs running lanes and gets after the quarterback, he has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past five seasons and has recorded at least five sacks every year since 2013. Casey spent the first nine seasons of his pro career with the Tennessee Titans and was traded to the Denver Broncos in March 2020.
DT Brandon Mebane
Mebane has been a defensive anchor for the Seahawks and Chargers over the course of his 13 NFL seasons. He boasts a Super Bowl XLVIII ring from his time in Seattle and 176 total career starts. The Crenshaw High alum played his college ball at Cal, and Seattle selected him in the third round of the 2007 draft. The 2020 season will be his fifth with the Chargers.
DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
To complete our defensive line, we tap another Crenshaw High alum. KGB enjoyed a standout college career at San Diego State and was drafted in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers in 2000. He spent his entire nine-year NFL career with the Packers, earning one Pro Bowl selection and recording 74.5 career sacks, including four consecutive seasons with at least 10 sacks. He also forced at least two fumbles each year from 2001 through 2007.
LB Bobby Wagner
Wagner is on a trajectory that could land him in Canton one day. In just eight NFL seasons, he’s made the Pro Bowl six times, won a Super Bowl, been named a first-team All-Pro five times and led the league in tackles twice. An alum of Colony High in Ontario and Utah State, Wagner is undoubtedly one of the best linebackers in the game and a great leader on the field.
LB Hardy Nickerson
Nickerson played a decade and a half in the NFL after attending Verbum Dei High in Los Angeles and the University of California. He made the Pro Bowl five times and was a two-time All-Pro, once leading the NFL in tackles with 214 in 1993. He started 200 of the 225 NFL games in which he appeared, recording 12 interceptions, 19 forced fumbles and 14 fumble recoveries with the Steelers, Buccaneers, Jaguars and Packers.
LB Clay Matthews Jr.
The first family of football appears on both sides of the ball on our roster. With brother Bruce Matthews anchoring the offensive line, Clay Jr. edges out son Clay III for our final linebacker spot. Matthews played three seasons at Arcadia High and attended USC before entering the NFL as a first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 1978. He led the league in tackles three times and made four Pro Bowls, starting 248 of his 278 career NFL games. In 19 seasons as a pro, Matthews Jr. recorded more than 1,500 tackles, recording 16 interceptions, 27 forced fumbles and 14 fumble recoveries with the Browns and Atlanta Falcons.
CB Richard Sherman
Sherman is known for being outspoken — and he has backed up the talk as one of the best NFL’s cornerbacks over the past decade. He attended Dominguez High in Compton and Stanford before emerging as a star with the Seattle Seahawks. A key member of the Legion of Boom secondary that helped lift Seattle to victory in Super Bowl XLVIII, he boasts five Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro selections. Sherman has recorded 35 career interceptions, including an NFL-best eight in 2013. The 2020 season will be his third with the San Francisco 49ers.
CB Mike Haynes
Haynes, a graduate of John Marshall High in Los Angeles, was one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks during a 14-season career in which he was named to nine Pro Bowl rosters and earned first-team All-Pro honors twice. The No. 5 overall pick by New England in 1976, he picked off eight passes in his first season and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1976. Haynes won a Super Bowl with the Raiders in the 1983 season and recorded 46 career interceptions. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
S Eric Weddle
Weddle was born and raised in the Inland Empire and attended Alta Loma High in Rancho Cucamonga before departing for the University of Utah. He returned to Southern California as a second-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2007. Weddle made six Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro twice with the Chargers and Ravens before finishing his career with the Rams. He recorded 29 interceptions and more than 1,000 tackles in 13 NFL seasons.
S Dennis Smith
Smith honed his skills at Santa Monica High and USC before becoming a defensive cornerstone for the Denver Broncos. He made six Pro Bowls and started 170 games in 14 NFL seasons — all with the Broncos. He led the NFL in tackles with 114 stops in 1983 and recorded 30 career interceptions. A first-round draft pick in 1981, Smith was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2001.
KR/PR DeSean Jackson
Jackson attended Long Beach Poly before playing his college ball at Cal and he’s been a home run threat at every level of football. In the NFL, he’s returned four punts for touchdowns, racking up 1,313 punt return yards on 139 attempts.
K Norm Johnson
Johnson attended Pacifica High in Garden Grove and played his college ball at UCLA. He earned two Pro Bowl selections and scored 1,736 points in his 18 NFL seasons.
P Mike Horan
Horan attended Sunny Hills High in Fullerton and Long Beach State before embarking on a 16-year NFL career. He led the NFL in punts and yardage in 1996, recording 102 punts for the Giants that season.
