LKelley67

I loved the how the game has changed post. It made me nostalgic. As I was reviewing recent personnel moves I went back and looked at more ancient history. Here is some great draft history from an old Buddy D article. My favorite is 1968 trading a 2nd for "information' LOL, must have been to learn about 3rd pick West Texas State WR Dave Symiankowski. The Saints may be the Cubs of the NFL but my gawd there are some faithful fans to stick with this. Article in next post---

LKelley67

1967 - The Saints traded the No. 1 pick in the draft for Baltimore Colts backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo. In trading that pick, the Saints missed a shot at getting Hall of Fame defensive end Bubba Smith or defensive tackle Alan Page. With the second first-round pick (26th) the Saints chose Alabama RB/LB Les Kelley instead of another Hall of Famer, linebacker Willie Lanier. Then with the first pick in Round 2 they chose DB Bo Burris and passed on Lem Barney. To top it off, the Saints selected tight end Sam Harris with the 186th pick and let HOF safety Ken Houston get away to Houston.

1968 - The Saints traded their No. 1 pick to Green Bay to acquire fullback Jim Taylor. Head coach Tom Fears was against the move because Taylor was in the twilight of his career. Had the Saints kept the pick, they could have gotten HOF fullback Larry Csonka They traded the second-round pick to Los Angeles in exchange for \"draft information.\" I\'m not kidding. With that pick, they could have gotten DT Curley Culp or QB Ken Stabler.

In Round 3, the Saints grabbed West Texas State WR Dave Symiankowski and passed on two Hall of Famers - OT Art Shell and DE Elvin Bethea. It snowballed from there.

1969 - Traded No. 2 pick for RB Tony Lorick; missed HOF linebacker Ted Hendricks. Round 4 picked WR/DB Dennis Hall; missed HOF receiver Charlie Joiner. In rounds 8 and 9, passed on RB Larry Brown and DE L.C. Greenwood, respectively.

1970 - With top pick, chose WR Ken Burrough. Head coach J.D. Roberts traded him a year later to Houston. Traded No. 2 pick to Browns for LB John Brewer instead of taking HOF corner Mel Blount.

1971 - Took QB Archie Manning with No. 1 pick. Took OT Sam Holden instead of OT Dan Dierdorf or LB Jack Ham in second round.

1972 - With No. 1 pick the Saints drafted OG Royce Smith; missed HOF fullback Franco Harris.

1973 - Traded No. 2 pick for DE Billy Newsome; missed QB Bert Jones or HOF lineman John Hannah. Took DE Steve Bumgartner in Round 2; missed HOF quarterback Dan Fouts.

1974 - With 13th pick, took LB Rick Middleton; available were LB Randy Gradishar and WR Lynn Swann. In Round 2, took TE Paul Seal; missed TE Dave Casper or LB Jack Lambert.

1975 - Saints picked WR Larry Burton with seventh pick and San Diego followed at No. 8 by taking DT Gary \"Big Hands\" Johnson.

1976 - Took OT Bob Simmons in Round 3; missed HOF tackle Jackie Slater.

1977 - Used seventh pick to draft DT Joe Campbell; six picks later, Miami grabbed LSU LB A.J. Duhe.

1978 - Drafted WR Wes Chandler with No. 2 pick; passed on HOF receiver James Lofton and TE Ozzie Newsome.

1979 - Drafted Texas kicker Russell Erxleben with 11th pick of first round; passed on TE Kellen Winslow and Joe Montana, the 82nd pick of the 49ers.

1980 - Selected DB David Waymer in second round; missed HOF center Dwight Stephenson.

1981 - With the overall No. 1 pick, the Saints chose Heisman trophy winner RB George Rogers; passed on LB Lawrence Taylor and DB Ronnie Lott, both Hall of Famers. Then they took safety Russell Gary instead of LB Mike Singletary or DT Howie Long.

dberce1

Funny stuff!! HOwever, every team in the NFL can post an article like this, with who they drafted, and who they \"passed\" on. I\'m sure it\'s happened to everyone. (except for that trading for info, that\'s reeeeeediculous)