The draft is over which means we’ve reached the abyss of the offseason. That means an influx of top 10 lists to pass the time! Today I’m giving you my top 10 all time undrafted players in Saints history. That only rule is that the player had to be undrafted, so whether they came to the Saints from the CFL (Delvin Breaux) or from another team (Lance Moore, Willie Snead) it doesn’t matter as long as they weren’t selected in the NFL draft. Travin Dural can aspire to live up to these players below:
1. Sam Mills, LB (1986-1994)
Not only is he the best undrafted player ever acquired by the Saints, he’s a top 10 all time franchise player too. So this one is a no brainer. Mills was a star in the now defunct USFL which was a professional league that guys that couldn’t make it in the NFL tried out for. Sometimes nicknamed “the field mouse”, a nickname he hated, Mills wasn’t drafted because he was 5’9″. Despite his limited height he played with unrelenting passion and ferocity, and is one of the best tacklers I’ve ever watched in my lifetime. Just always around the football. Mills is second all time in franchise history for defensive fumble recoveries and second all time in franchise history for total tackles. He took 4 trips to the Pro Bowl.
2. Sammy Knight, SS (1997-2002)
One of the very few things that was truly awesome from the Ditka era. Knight came from USC undrafted, made the team, started immediately and was a beast as a rookie. He’s 3rd in team history in interceptions and was just a ballhawk playmaker. He wasn’t very fast but he just had a nose for the football and was always in the right place. He made one Pro Bowl.
3. Pierre Thomas, RB (2007-2014)
In 2007, the Saints traded up in the 4th round to select Ohio State runningback Antonio Pittman because he was viewed as tremendous value. After training camp and preseason, though, the Saints were forced to cut Pittman . They were already deep at running back with Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush and Aaron Stecker, and Pittman was viewed coming in as the #4 guy they could stash away and develop. The problem wasn’t that he looked awful, but that Pierre Thomas had grossly outperformed him. In fact, Thomas had kind of outperformed every back on the roster that summer. The Saints couldn’t deny the obvious fact that Thomas was a better player than Pittman, so they kept him instead as their #4. The rest is history. Thomas is 5th all time in franchise rushing yards, 7th all time in franchise touchdowns scored, and 15th all time in franchise receptions.
4. Bobby Hebert, QB (1985-1992)
Like Mills, Hebert was a USFL acquisition after being a star in that league. Drew Brees has won 58% of the starts in his career. Hebert won 64.4%. I’m not suggesting Hebert is anywhere near Brees in terms of production, and his defense was light years better… but I just use that stat to illustrate that Hebert helped the team win a lot of regular season games. In franchise history, Hebert is second in games won by a starting QB, 4th in passing yards, 4th in touchdown passes and 5th in QB rating (at least 10 starts).
5. Lance Moore, WR (2005-2013)
Moore will always be most remembered for the ridiculous 2 point conversion catch he had in the Super Bowl. He was actually brought into the NFL as a UDFA by the Browns, though he didn’t make the team. That same year in 2005 – he was signed by Jim Haslett to the practice squad during the Katrina season. He would eventually turn into a noted playmaker with Sean Payton. He’s 5th in team receptions, 7th in yards, and 5th in touchdowns.
6. Brett Maxie, FS (1985-1993)
A productive safety in the “Dome Patrol” era, Maxie was overshadowed by the ridiculous front 7 in terms of notoriety, but he was an excellent player in his own right. Maxie is 9th all time in franchise history in interceptions. The Saints signed him as a rookie free agent out of Texas Southern after the draft and he became a full time starter two years later.
7. Keith Mitchell, LB (1997-2001)
Did I say Knight was the only good thing to come out of the Ditka era? OK, I take it back. Mitchell was a UDFA that year too and became a starter in 1998. He made the Pro Bowl in 2000 as a playmaking linebacker that was good at finding the football. Despite his lack of size he was fast, hit hard and made plays.
8. Elex Price, DT (1973-1980)
Not many guys make the league out of Alcorn State. Price not only made it undrafted, he was immediately a starter as a rookie and lasted 8 solid years.
9. Frank Wattelet, FS (1981-1987)
He’s tied with Ashley Ambrose for 12th in interceptions in team history. He started a few games his rookie season out of Kansas as a UDFA and eventually became a solid full time starter.
10. Emmanuel Zander, G (1974-1980)
As a long shot UDFA from Jackson State, he came a starter in year two and last 7 seasons – starting until he left.
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