When Luis Sharpe signed a free-agent contract with the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League two weeks before the 1985 NFL Draft, the Cardinals suddenly had a big hole to fill.
A first-round draft pick in 1982, Sharpe had started at left tackle all 41 games in his first three seasons with the Big Red, but now it looked like he had been lost to the upstart USFL. The Cardinals hoped to find his replacement in the Draft.
Trouble was, four of the best tackles were snatched up before it was the Cardinals’ turn to pick in the first round—Lomas Brown (Lions), Ken Ruettgers (Packers), Kevin Allen (Eagles) and Jim Lachey (Chargers)—so the team went to Plan B and selected Mississippi defensive end Freddie Joe Nunn with the 18th overall choice.
A few months earlier, Big Red coach Jim Hanifan and his staff had coached the North team in the Senior Bowl, and Nunn’s performance for the South squad had impressed Hanifan.
“He roared in on us all day long from defensive right end,” Hanifan recalled. “It’s going to be a pleasure having him on the same side of the fence. … He can create havoc for us as a pass rusher right away.”
To mitigate the loss of Sharpe, St. Louis picked Wisconsin’s Scott Bergold in the second round. Bergold had been a defensive tackle in college but Hanifan, who had coached Bergold in the Senior Bowl, said Bergold would be converted to offensive tackle in the NFL. Although that plan didn’t work out, Sharpe re-signed with the Cardinals before the 1985 season and played another 10 years with the team.
As Hanifan predicted, Nunn indeed made a mark as a pass rusher for the Cardinals. Other players from the 1985 draft class who made big impacts were guard Lance Smith (third round), fullback-special teams ace Ron Wolfley (fourth), tight end Jay Novacek (sixth) and defensive back Lonnie Young (12th).
1985 St. Louis Football Cardinals Draft Picks
| rd-overall | player | position | college |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-18 | Freddie Joe Nunn | DE | Mississippi |
| 2-51 | Scott Bergold | T | Wisconsin |
| 3-72 | Lance Smith | G | LSU |
| 4-104 | Ron Wolfley | RB | West Virginia |
| 5-116 | K.D. Dunn | TE | Clemson |
| 5-131 | Louis Wong | G | BYU |
| 6-158 | Jay Novacek | TE | Wyoming |
| 8-212 | Rob Monaco | C | Vanderbilt |
| 9-244 | Scott Williams | RB | Georgia |
| 10-271 | Dennis Williams | RB | Furman |
| 11-298 | Ricky Anderson | K | Vanderbilt |
| 12-325 | Lonnie Young | DB | Michigan St. |
The Cardinals tried to make Freddie Joe Nunn a linebacker, putting him at right outside linebacker in their 4-3 defense in 1985 and at left outside linebacker when they switched to a 3-4 scheme in ’86—Gene Stallings’ first season as head coach. Although Nunn started every game in both seasons and had seven sacks in ’86, he looked uncomfortable at linebacker—especially in the 3-4. Nunn was moved to defensive end before the 1987 season, when the Cardinals went back to a 4-3, and he thrived in his next four seasons, producing 39 sacks—including 11 in ’87 and 14 in ’88. When Joe Bugel became head coach in 1990, Nunn was moved back to linebacker. Despite all of that shuffling around, Nunn played in 131 games (123 starts) and produced 66.5 sacks—a franchise record that stood until 2021.
A reserve offensive tackle who played on special teams, Scott Bergold played in all 16 games as a rookie in 1985—his only season in the NFL.
During his nine seasons with the Big Red (1985-93), Lance Smith was a stable force on the offensive line. After playing right tackle in his first two seasons, Smith was moved to right guard, where he lined up for the next seven years. From 1986 to 1993, he played in 126 games and started 124—including all 16 games from 1988 to 1993. He became a free agent after the ’93 season and played three more years in the NFL for the Jets.
The only player to play for both the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams, Ron Wolfley was an explosive special teams player in a fullback’s body. He averaged 17.5 yards on 13 kick returns as a rookie, but it was his kamikaze style of play on kick and punt coverage that was most impressive. Sports Illustrated magazine once described Wolfley as “Rambo in shoulder pads” and “a demolition derby on two legs.” Wolfley was selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls (1986-89) as a special teams standout. As a fullback for the Cardinals, he rushed 86 times for 263 yards and three touchdowns, and caught 26 passes for 200 yards and two TDs.
Whether it was the talent around him, the way he was used, or injuries, tight end Jay Novacek only scratched the surface of his potential in five seasons with the Big Red (1985-89). He was primarily a special teams player as a rookie, and injuries limited him in 1986. Despite impressive seasons in both 1987 (20 receptions-254 yards-three touchdowns) and ’88 (38-569-4)—Novacek couldn’t win the starting job at tight end. Left unprotected in Plan B free agency after the ’89 season, Novacek signed with Dallas, where he quickly became a favorite target of quarterback Troy Aikman and turned into one of the best tight ends in the league. He was selected to five consecutive Pro Bowls (1991-95) and voted to the NFL’s All-Pro team in ’92, when he caught 68 passes for 630 yards and six touchdowns. The contrast in his numbers playing for the Cardinals vs. playing with the Cowboys was stunning: St. Louis—83 catches, 569 yards, eight touchdowns; Dallas—339, 3,576, 22.
For the first time since the NFL reduced the Draft to 12 rounds in 1977 and only the second time in their 26 drafts in St. Louis (linebacker Chuck Walker (1963) was the other one), the Cardinals found a high-impact player in the 12th round. Lonnie Young started 10 games in 1985, had three interceptions and 92 combined tackles, and was selected to the league’s All-Rookie Team. In six seasons with the Big Red (1985-90), Young played in 79 games (72 starts), intercepted eight passes for 42 yards, and was credited with 473 combined tackles. He was traded to the Jets after the 1990 season and played six more years in the NFL—five with the Jets and one with the Chargers. After retiring, Young became a long time NFL scout for the Jets, Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens. He is currently the general manager of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League.
THE BIG RED ZONE 