Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

"New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints 1981

Round Pick Player Position Games Pro Bowls Misc

R02 (51) Rickey Jackson, LB, 227, 6, Hall of Famer, 128 career sacks

R01 (1) George Rogers, RB, 92, 2, Led NFL in rushing en route to Rookie of the Year

R12 (305) Jim Wilks, DE, 183, 0, Started 154 games over 13 seasons

R03 (57) Frank Warren, DE, 189, 0, Started 83 games over 14 seasons

R03 (71) Hoby Brenner, TE, 175, 1, Led Saints in receiving 1985

R06 (144) Johnnie Poe, CB, 100, 0, Started 90 games over 7 seasons

R02 (29) Russell Gary, S, 80, 0, 4-year starter in New Orleans

R10 (249) Hokie Gajan, RB, 45, 0, Averaged 5.4 YPC over 4 seasons with Saints

The 2006 class featuring Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Jahri Evans and Roman Harper helped revitalize New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but the 1981 haul is a sneaky pick as one of the must fruitful in NFL history.

Second-round pick Rickey Jackson became the Saints' first Hall of Fame selection after racking up 128 sacks as the most decorated of the No. 1 linebacker corps of all time.

Early in his career, Jackson was outshined by first overall pick George Rogers, who set an NFL rookie record with 1,674 rushing yards. Rogers' running ability is credited with revitalizing a moribund franchise.

The defensive-end duo of Frank Warren and Jim Wilks contributed 98 sacks while playing more than a dozen seasons each in the Big Easy. The '83 draft also produced a 12-year starter at tight end (Hoby Brenner), six-year starter at cornerback (Johnnie Poe), a four-year starter at safety (Russell Gary) and a change-of-pace back with a career average of 5.4 yards per carry (Hokie Gajan).

Fun fact: You know that Mike Ditka parted with the Saints' entire 1998 draft for the opportunity to grab Ricky Williams. But did you know Bengals owner Mike Brown' rejected Ditka's offer of six 1999 draft picks plus two more first-round picks and a second-rounder because he couldn't pass up Akili Smith?"

Source: Every NFC team's best draft class in history - NFL.com

The 2014 NFL Draft could easily be ten (10) rounds...

And if there's any doubt that NFL.com hates on the Saints is calling that factoid a "fun fact" - exactly fun for who rassroles?!?

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

2013 may prove to be the best when you add the UDFA and the fact that our defense went from last to 4th. :bng:

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

Are you kidding me? Yes, the Saints had a good draft. But, and this is a big but, had they picked Lawrence Taylor instead of George Rogers, they wouldn't have needed Rickey Jackson in the second round. Yes, Taylor had his problems. But he was the best OLB to play the game. George Rogers will be linked to the guy that was picked right before Michael Jordan. No one but the team who picked him will remember him.

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

good way to forget how bad 1980 was

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

We are drafting too low for the top selections at any one position. But as ScottF said our bread is buttered in the UDFA market.

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

Coulda woulda shoulda - fact is that 1981 is our best draft class ever to date

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

I am curious... What does who they did not pick have to do with how good the players that they did pick ended up being?


Thats like knocking on your wife because a girl you dated in 8th grade ended up being taller.

Not sure I would say that Rickey is the lesser of the picks either.
Rickey Jackson - started 225 out of 227 games played, 15 seasons
1173 tackles, 128 career sacks , 40 forced fumbles, 29 fumbles required, 8 interceptions


Lawrence Taylor - started 180 out of 184 games played, 13 seasons
1188 tackles, 132.5 career sacks , 33 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 9 interceptions


I would argue that if We had LT and the Giants had Jackson, Rickey Jackson would be called the greatest LB of all time....

Another thing to consider is who they shared a backfield with.

Re: Greatest Draft Class in Saints History?
 

1986 draft wasn't a bad draft class especially those first 3 rounds after that it went down hill