NFL Free Agency Series: Ron Bartell, St. Louis Rams.

If I were to poll 20 people and ask if they knew who Ron Bartell was, I bet only four or five would answer in the affirmative. It really is a shame that good players who are stuck on bad teams go unnoticed.

That's exactly what Ronald Bartell was in 2008—a very good player stuck on a horrible team. A fourth year cornerback in 2008, Bartell had his best year in St. Louis. He registered 57 tackles and 19 pass deflections. Looking at his stat sheet, you would probably say it was his second best year. In 2007, Bartell made 67 tackles and had two interceptions.

But what should stand out to a real fan is that he was not a starter in 2006, and yet still had a solid year as a nickel corner, producing starter numbers. In 2008, Bartell took over for the struggling and injured Tye Hill and shut down some of the league's top receivers.

When Ron broke into the NFL in 2005, he was seen as a project due to the lack of competition at Howard University. The Rams looked at him as a big talent with all of the intangibles; he just needed to put it all together.

Following a strong rookie season, Bartell struggled through much of the 2006 season but flourished later on, recording three interceptions in the final three games, one being returned for a touchdown.

The knock on Bartell was that he would follow up a great play with two bad ones, but it was only a matter of time until he put it all together.

The 2007 season was a coming out party for Bartell. Due to injuries to starters Tye Hill and Fakhir Brown, Bartell was given the chance to be a starter. His best game was in a 35-7 beating at the hands of the Cowboys. Bartell was in single coverage with Terrell Owens for the entire game and held Owens to just three receptions on the day for 33 yards.

As I mentioned earlier, Bartell is a very good player stuck on a bad team. He and safety O.J. Atogwe are free agents this year and should be the Rams' top priorities going into the offseason. Whoever signs Bartell for the 2009 season is getting a high quality player.

Bartell has tremendous top-end speed as well as recovery speed (just ask Michael Turner) to go along with a very solid frame. I have no doubt that he will be the steal of the 2009 free agency period.

Possible suitors: Minnesota, Green Bay, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Kansas City, New England.