I, of course, would have rather had Eddie George and Marvin Harrison rather than Phillips and Kennison but there was some 99 draft ammo from that 96 draft.
Kennison had 54 receptions for 924 yards and nine touchdowns and returned two punts for touchdowns as a rookie. Then in 1999 EK was traded to the Saints for a 2nd round pick in the 99 draft. The Rams went into the 99 draft with a 1st and two 2nds. They used the 1st on Holt, their 2nd on Faulk and used the 2nd from EK on Dre Bly.
Rams Trade Kennison to Saints
R.B. FALLSTROM
February 18, 1999
ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Eddie Kennison, who has faltered since his rookie season in 1996 was traded Thursday from the St. Louis Rams to the New Orleans Saints for a second-round draft pick.
Kennison, who was the 18th overall pick in the 1996 draft. As a rookie, he had 54 receptions for 924 yards and nine touchdowns and returned two punts for touchdowns.
But Kennison, who won the NFL’s fastest man competition in 1997, had 25 catches in 1997 and only 17 for 234 yards and one touchdown last season. His speed has been neutralized by jamming tactics at the line of scrimmage.
``I think it’s a good move for us, myself included,″ coach Dick Vermeil said. ``We have not been able to bring Eddie to the level he was at as a rookie. I think he just needed a change where he can regain his confidence.″
The trade gives Kennison, whose big moment last season was a punt return for a touchdown, the opportunity to play in his home state. He is from Lake Charles, La., and played at Louisiana State.
``Our goal as coaches is to get Eddie back to the form he displayed as a rookie,″ Saints coach Mike Ditka said in a news release.
The draft choice gives the Rams three of the first 42 picks in the draft, April 17-18.
The Rams also released defensive tackle Joe Phillips, a 13-year veteran. Phillips appeared in 13 games last season, four of them starts, but was critical of Vermeil’s practice regimen late in the season. Vermeil said several weeks ago that Phillips would not be back.
Kennison’s trade makes the 1996 draft a disaster for the Rams. Their other first-rounder that year, running back Lawrence Phillips, was released last November after a series of legal problems.
Quarterback Tony Banks, a second-round pick that year, has lost his starting job to free agent signee Trent Green and will be traded or released. The third-round pick, running back Jerald Moore, fumbled away the starting job he took after Phillips was let go and was one of the Rams’ five unprotected players for the Cleveland Browns’ expansion draft.[
apnews.com]
