With the Fifth Overall Pick in the 1981 Draft, the St. Louis Cardinals selected E.J. Junior, who was the second Linebacker taken behind someone you may have heard of; Lawrence Taylor.  Junior did not have Taylor’s career (who could?) but the Cardinals got a lot of good football from the eventual College Football Hall of Fame inductee.

Junior won the starting job during the season and, by the mid-80s, was one of the best interior Linebackers in the NFC.  His best season was in 1984 when he was a First Team All-Pro and began a two-year run of Pro Bowls.  From 183 to 1985, Junior had eight Interceptions and 19.0 Sacks, and though he tailed off afterward, he was still a solid NFL player.

He left the Cardinals behind in 1988, joining Miami as a Free Agent.  The Cardinals were not significant in the 1980s, but this does not detract from Junior's work in St.Louis/Phoenix.