Not often heading into a draft do you come out of it with multiple top line contributors. Of course that’s the hope every year, but more often than not you draft more than a couple players that will fizzle out of the league in less than 3 years. As we draw closer to this year’s practice I wanted to revisit the times the Saints have struck gold with the NFL draft. While the jury is still out on the class of 2013, I’m very hopeful that class will enter this list very soon. In fact, you could argue it belongs already. Kenny Vaccaro, Terron Armstead, John Jenkins and Kenny Stills have all shown in their rookie season remarkable potential. Rufus Johnson is the one player from the class who hasn’t made his mark in the roster, but he has a chance in year two to still turn heads as he remains with the team for now. It’s entirely possible 2013 will soon become the best draft class in team history. Until then, below are my top 5 classes:
5. 2004 – The crowning jewel of the Jim Haslett era. He drafted Will Smith in the 1st round which at the time was controversial because he would back up Charles Grant and Darren Howard his rookie season. Those were both good players in their own right. Smith would turn out to have a much better career than those two, though, making the Pro Bowl once and totaling 67.5 sacks which is good for 4th best in team history. In the 2nd round the team took Devery Henderson who is 5th in team history in receiving yards. The class also featured bruising fan favorite fullback Mike Karney who was a quality starter for 5 seasons and paved the way for Deuce McAllister’s best years, and overachieving 7th round linebacker Colby Bockwoldt who played pretty well in two seasons as a starter. Rodney Leisle and Courtney Watson, on the flip side, were disappointments.
4. 1989 – Jim Mora came up with a good class this year. In the first round he selected Wayne Martin who was probably the best defensive end in team history. He had 82.5 career sacks, 2nd best in team history. Robert Massey, the 2nd round pick, was a solid starting corner for the team for a couple seasons. The class also featured Kevin Haverdink who was a decent spot starting tackle for 3 seasons, Floyd Turner who had 927 yards receiving and 8 touchdowns in 1991, and David Griggs who would end up starting for the Chargers in the Super Bowl.
3. 2006 – This post Katrina class, Sean Payton’s first, was monumental because it was a turning point in the franchise’s history. Without hitting such a grand slam with this class, the team’s fortunes would have been very different. That’s funny because while the 2nd overall pick Reggie Bush had his moments, he never fully justified that pick in New Orleans. It was the picks after him that really made an impact. Safety Roman Harper made two Pro Bowls and had a great career with the Saints. Jahri Evans has been to five Pro Bowls and has a shot at the NFL Hall of Fame potentially. Rob Ninkovich is still a stud for the Patriots. And then, in the 7th round, the Saints landed Zach Strief and Marques Colston who both still to this day start on the team. Colston, by the way, is the best receiver statistically in team history.
2. 1986 – This may not be the best class, but it’s my favorite one. This was Jim Mora’s first class and a big reason he had a lot of success in his tenure with the Saints was due to killing it with his first draft. The Saints first took Jim Dombrowski who is one of the team’s best guards in history and started for 11 seasons with the Saints. Next they took Dalton Hilliard who is my favorite all time Saints and LSU player. He is 3rd in team history in rushing yards and 2nd in team history in rushing touchdowns. Hilliard went to the Pro Bowl in 1989 after scoring 18 touchdowns that season in one of the best single season performances I’ve ever seen by a running back. Then the Saints took Reuben Mayes, 5th all time in team rushing, and Pat Swilling, who went to 4 Pro Bowls, is 3rd in team history with 76.5 sacks, and was the 1991 NFL defensive player of the year after recording 17 sacks in a season. The Saints rounded this class with Barry Word, who was a great player for the Chiefs, and role players Gill Fenerty and Reggie Sutton.
1. 1981 – George Rogers, the 1st pick, is 2nd all time in team rushing. He made the Pro Bowl twice in his four seasons with the Saints. 2nd rounder Russell Gary was a decent cover man that was with the Saints for 7 years. Then you have NFL Hall of Fame member Rickey Jackson, best in team history in sacks by far, Frank Warren who is 5th in team history in sacks, Hoby Brenner who is 11th in receiving touchdowns and second in tight end receptions behind Graham, Johnnie Poe who had 7 interceptions in 1983, Hokie Gajan who was a useful fullback, and Jim Wilks who is 8th in career sacks. This class had everything: elite talent, diversity, depth and longevity with the team.
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