Ranking the New Orleans Saints drafts of the Sean Payton era from worst to first
With increasing scrutiny being focused on talent evaluation from the Saints coaches and front office, let’s take a look at the drafts of the Sean Payton era and rank them from worst to first.
Sep 1, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton talks with his players before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
When the Sean Payton era began in 2006, New Orleans was still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The whole Gulf Coast, the Who Dat Nation, was licking its wounds. The house I had lived in in Bayou La Batre, Alabama was completely vaporized on the western shore of Mobile Bay. Nothing was left but my prized gas grill.
Saints fans are hopeful a lot. Who Dat Nation has ridden waves of expectation for years and after a 2005 season where “home games” were played in Baton Rouge and San Antonio, even one in the Meadowlands in New Jersey, having the beloved Black and Gold back in the Big Easy with a new coach was reason to celebrate.
That first season for Payton and Brees wasn’t spectacular, but things seemed different. What happened in the next few seasons was more than any Saints fan I ever knew could have imagined in their most fevered dreams.
Since winning the Super Bowl things have been horribly uneven for the Saints. Brees is still there, so there’s still hope but lately more scrutiny is being focused on the Saints personnel, financial, and coaching decisions. Drafts for the Saints have been a terrible hit and miss affair. With that being the primary way an NFL team builds itself into a contender, I decided to look back and rank the New Orleans Saints’ NFL Drafts from worst to first.
The list is full of names you’ve likely forgotten, or perhaps never heard of if you’re a more casual fan. And there are some success stories to be sure. One thing is certain though, the Saints front office and coaches will have to do a better job evaluating talent if the team wants to be a contender again, while Drew Brees is still in the league.
So let’s get the football rolling with the worst draft of the Payton era.
Coming off a 13-3 record in 2011, 2012 saw the Saints suffer from the effects of the Bountygate scandal. This draft didn’t help.
Jan 7, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams watches pregame warmups prior to the game against the Detroit Lions in the 2011 NFC Wild Card Playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE
Due to Bountygate, the Saints didn’t get on the board until the third round of this draft.
Here were the picks.
Akiem Hicks saw his fair share of action on the defensive line but never fully developed. His best season came in 2013 where he recorded 4.5 sacks. He was let go three games into the 2015 campaign in a trade with the Patriots for TE Michael Hoomanawanui. Hicks finished the season in New England and seemed to be resurrected, but the Pats cut him anyway. He’s currently a backup with the Chicago Bears.
One theme you’ll see recurring in this analysis is the number of Saints draftees who go on to perform better with other teams. Certainly Hicks was one of those players. I’m not sure what it says about the Saints. Either the coaching staff isn’t using them properly, the environment is wrong for some players, or they aren’t being given enough time to develop. At any rate, it’s a concerning trend.
Corey White was a solid backup cornerback and performed okay when called on to start due to injuries. He’s currently on the Bills roster but not getting playing time.
Andrew Tiller on the other hand is a starting guard with the San Francisco 49ers. Considering the trouble the Saints are having at the guard position these days, that certainly raises those nagging questions again.
Overall, none of these players were productive enough for the Saints to deem any a success. This easily makes 2012 the worst draft of the Payton era.
If not for Brandin Cooks, the 2014 draft would easily be the worst.
Nov 15, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brandin Cooks (10) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins in the first quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Brandin Cooks is a legitimate NFL star. A mere two years later, he’s the only player from this draft still on an NFL roster. Let that sink in for a moment. It’s hard to believe a coaching staff and scouting department could get it so utterly wrong. Here were the picks:
This probably should have been my worst but with Cooks being what he is, at least the Saints have something to show for this one. None of the other guys developed. I had high hopes for Sunseri. He’d been a true baller at Alabama and a special teams stud.
Again, just two years later and the other five guys aren’t even playing on Sundays. That’s a staggering stat. How in the world could a paid and experienced personnel department get it so very wrong?
The 2008 draft brought the Saints three defensive starters but also plenty of wasted potential.
Ultimately however, drafts have to be graded on potential, fulfilled, and unfulfilled. Perhaps the best part of the 2008 draft was that it involved the trade for LB Jonathan Vilma who would gave the Saints five solid years of service and was one of the strongest contributors on their Super Bowl run.
Here are that year’s picks:
Sedrick Ellis was a reach in my opinion. The Saints had a need at defensive tackle but also at other defensive positions. With Who Dat Nation’s dream pick LSU’s Glen Dorsey was being projected to go well above the Saints’ pick at number seven. Most analysts had the Black and Gold going with Tennessee LB Jerod Mayo or Tennessee State’s Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. In this case, I wish those analysts were part of the Saints personnel department.
Ellis did start for five years with the Saints but was never terribly effective. Certainly not as impactful as Mayo or Rodgers-Cromartie were for their teams. He was fairly solid for his first three years and then fell off the map. After leaving the Saints, he went to the Bears and retired a year later.
Porter and Carl Nicks both had productive years with the Saints and Porter is still around currently a starter with Chicago. Adrian Arrington never lived up to expectations, and kicker Taylor Mehlhoff, after replacing an injured Martin Gramatica went one for four on FGs and was cut that season. DeMario Pressley was all potential and never panned out bouncing around to five other teams over four years before his career ended.
2010 brought the Saints TE Jimmy Graham. After that little else.
Dec 2, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) celebrates a touchdown reception against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
2010’s draft was again, one that should be ranked much lower but one player was enough to save it. That player was University of Miami tight end Jimmy Graham.
Here are the picks from the 2010 draft:
One of the most fun things about going back and reading all of the news, predictions, and grades on past drafts is having the hindsight to see where some analysts got things horribly wrong. One respected publication had Jimmy Graham ranked just above Sean Canfield in his draft grade. They went so far as to grade Al Woods an A-.
I’ll admit I wasn’t high on Jimmy Graham, and this pick reeked of another Sean Payton developmental player who would never pan out. Boy was I wrong. I think Graham was eventually cut due more to a locker room chemistry issue than money, but when he was on for the Saints he was lightning.
None of the other players in this draft ever panned out for the Saints. The Who Dat Nation frequently laments Sean Payton’s seemingly disregard for LSU players and perhaps Al Woods is why. Or familiarity breeds contempt. Who knows? But this is one instance where he did what the fans wanted, and it didn’t go well.
Of course, Graham moved on to the Seahawks following the Saints trading him for center Max Unger, and he’s been a disappointment to this point in Seattle. That may be just how great Drew Brees is.
Yep, the 2009 Saints draft is memorable for their fifth round selection, punter Thomas Morstead.
Sep 20, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead (6) kicks in the second quarter of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
“Flipping the field” is an expression you’ll hear occasionally in football. It refers to when a punter can kick from deep in his own territory and allow the special teams coverage unit to pin their opponents deep in the their territory. Thomas Morstead out of Southern Methodist University has been doing that for the Saints going on eight years now.
The Pro Bowler is perhaps most famous however, for executing the Saints’ second half onside kick in the Super Bowl that changed the game’s momentum. Morstead has also been solid in kickoffs for the Saints, though that duty has been handed off to rookie Wil Lutz for the 2016 season.
Not much else to report here except for Malcolm Jenkins who was better after he left the Saints.
Here are the 2009 picks:
After five semi-productive years with the Saints, Malcolm Jenkins is now with the Eagles for whom he looks like a stud. Certainly this raises a lot of questions. Was it an issue of scheme fit? Coaching? Adjusting to the switch from corner to safety? Whatever the case, the Eagles staff obviously knows how to use him more effectively.
What’s up with the Wake Forest defenders? Some scout was obviously watching a lot of Demon Deacons football leading up to this draft. Neither of these guys worked out. Fun fact: the Demon Deacons were originally called the Fighting Baptists. Not sure which is scarier.
The Saints lost their second and a fifth round pick in a trade with the New York Giants for TE Jeremy Shockey who had a fairly strong three-year run with the Black and Gold.
But by far, Morstead was the star of this draft. I give the Saints a little bit of a mulligan on this one since the lack of picks were due to a trade, which positively impacted the team.
The Saints have had plenty of middling drafts in the Payton era. 2007 was another one of those. Lots of picks and lots of misses.
Nov 17, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem (17) carries up the field on a reception against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers (22) during the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee WR Robert Meachem and T Jermon Bushrod out of Towson were the only standouts in this draft. Other picks were lost in trades for a couple of free agent busts. The Saints’ search for a consistent deep threat led them to taking Meachem.
Here are the picks from 2007:
Trades brought the Saints whipping post cornerback Jason David from the Colts and kicker Olindo Mare from the Dolphins. I’m sure they wish they’d had the picks back. Many will remember Jason David more for the 2007 season opener than any positives. On that Thursday night, the opening game for the NFL’s season in Indianapolis against his former team, Jason David was targeted relentlessly by Peyton Manning and just looked lost. Obviously the Colts knew all of his weaknesses and showed why they had let him go.
Antonio Pittman and David Jones never played a snap for the Saints but the other players contributed to varying degrees.
Jermon Bushrod went to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and was a key contributor on the Saints Super Bowl squad.
The Saints went into the 2015 draft knowing they needed to fix their defense. The jury is still out to a great degree, but the future looks bright.
Aug 30, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints inside linebacker Stephone Anthony (50) against the Houston Texans during the first half of a preseason game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Texans defeated the Saints 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
There were nine picks in this draft. Six were used on defensive selections. Controversial number one pick, thirteenth overall Andrus Peat is still a work in progress. I say controversial because many Saints fans would rather have seen all nine picks in 2015 spent on the defense. There’s certainly a point to be made for that position.
Coming off a miserable 2014 defensive showing where the Saints finished 28th in points allowed and 31st in yardage given up, tackle certainly seemed to be the last of the Saints need positions.
Peat was of course, supposed to be Zach Strief’s replacement but couldn’t beat him out. He’s currently trying to fit in at left guard, and it finally looks like it might be starting to click for him.
Here are the 2015 picks:
Sure, we don’t know what the future holds for most of these guys, but this looks to be one of the more solid drafts of the Payton era. Anthony, Kikaha, Williams, and Davison are or should be starters. Kikaha and Swann will miss all of 2016 likely, and Williams missed all of 2015 but all three should have bright futures.
Tyeler Davison is currently starting on the defensive line, filling in the gap left by injured rookie Sheldon Rankins and is playing very well.
Marcus Murphy has shown flashes but likely won’t be on the roster going forward due to inconsistent special teams play.
All in all, this draft seemed to reverse a negative trend in Sean Payton’s drafts, and there were many more hits than misses.
Two quality starters make the 2013 draft one of Payton’s better efforts. Also there was one head scratcher.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – AUGUST 16: Kenny Vaccaro
The 2013 draft is notable due to the selections of safety Kenny Vaccaro and tackle Terron Armstead. The head scratcher isn’t the pick of wideout Kenny Stills but the trade of him later.
Here are the 2013 picks:
Getting two stars out of an NFL draft is a win for the Saints. Vaccaro is solid and Armstead has already been a Pro Bowl alternate, sure to be a Pro Bowl starter before his career is done.
John Jenkins has had an up and down career with the team to this point. Rufus Johnson made the practice squad and was inactive for one game before being cut.
The head scratcher in this draft wasn’t that Kenny Stills was drafted, but that he was traded later. Stills came on hard as a deep threat in his second season finishing with 63 receptions for 931 yards (14.3 yard/catch average) and 3 TDs.
After that breakout season, he was traded to the Dolphins for LB Dannell Ellerbe. In two years, due to injury, Ellerbe has participated in six games for the Black and Gold. Kenny Stills was still under a rookie contract making far less than a million a year, and Ellerbe’s contract was an expensive pro level amount.
Stills hasn’t done much for the Dolphins, but Ellerbe has done next to nothing for the Saints. Certainly Brees would make Stills look better than Tannehill can. If Ellerbe can’t start getting well, that was a huge bust of a trade.
There are still a lot of unknowns with the 2016 draft, but there’s plenty of promise.
Feb 28, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins participates in workout drills during the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
I’m going out on a limb to a degree with this one. There’s a lot to see before true judgment can be passed on the most recent Saints draft, but hopes are high.
Here are the picks:
Sheldon Rankins broke his fibula in practice in the preseason, but what we were seeing from him to that point looked solid when working with the ones.
Michael Thomas has shown amazing ability and has been spoken of very highly by Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints and their coaching staff. He would be the number two receiver on the team, if it weren’t for the play of Willie Snead.
Vonn Bell and David Onyemata look like potential starters, and Daniel Lasco has demonstrated enough in special teams play to show his value.
There’s so much left to find out about this year’s crew, but I feel good about their prospects. The Saints have certainly had drafts that were much, much worse.
Two first round picks were key in 2011 and two Pro Bowlers. Nothing else but that’s enough.
Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram (22) runs as New York Giants linebacker Jonathan Casillas (54) pursues during the first quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram were the big hits in 2011. Those are guys you’ll see plenty of if you’re looking to download some Saints wallpapers for your computer or phone. Surely they’re the only two who weren’t whiffs in 2011, but they’re enough to rank this as Payton’s second best draft.
Here are the 2011 picks:
Aside from the top two, here’s another draft like 2009 with the Wake Forest guys. Some scout really, really liked the University of Illinois linebacking corps. Neither of these panned out, so at some point you have to ask what our scouts are seeing.
Sean Payton’s drafts are more miss than hit. I decided to do a little research on retention of drafted players and was lucky enough to find this article on Mile High Report “How long does the average draft pick stick around?” without having to look very hard.
What makes the hit and miss ratio in Payton’s drafts so discouraging is that he started off his tenure with the Saints with his best draft.
The 2006 Saints draft, Sean Payton’s first with the club, is historically great.
NEW ORLEANS – JANUARY 16: Reggie Bush
We’ll just go straight to the list on this one. Many of the names stand out.
Here’s the 2006 Saints draft:
The most stunning thing about this draft for me is the number of players still on the roster. There are none remaining from the 2007, 2008, or 2010 draft and only Thomas Morstead from 2009. Three of the 2006 players are on the 2016 roster, and Colston was only released this past offseason. That’s an astounding figure.
Only Josh Lay and Mike Haas were misses. Rob Ninkovich is still on the New England roster and were it not for an injury would probably be starting.
Of course it’s for these very reasons that the rest of Sean Payton’s drafts have been so confounding. Rarely does a team have a draft as solid as what the Saints had in 2006. Especially, looking back over ten years later.
The average NFL career for any draftee is 3.3 years. The average career for a draftee who makes an opening day roster is 6 years. In that light, it’s obvious how good 2006 was for the Who Dats.
Recent drafts seem to be getting better, but the Saints are still not able to put together winning seasons. Free agents must be considered with better scrutiny as well. With good drafts and better free agent signings, maybe the Black and Gold can get back into the playoffs before Brees is finally forced to pass the baton. But it’s unlikely anything will ever match Payton’s first draft as a Saint.
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