The seventh and final round of the annual NFL draft has brought mixed results to the New Orleans Saints — they hit home runs on both of their seventh-round picks back in 2006, giving fans hope that every subsequent seventh rounder could be the next Zach Strief or Marques Colston. But more often than not these late-round fliers haven’t panned out. The drop in prospect quality from earlier in the draft is often just too tough to overcome.
Still, with the Saints picking twice in the seventh round this year, it’s worth looking back on past results to set a realistic expectation for the upcoming rookies. Here’s the Saints draft history in Round 7 and every other phase of the draft under longtime general manager Mickey Loomis:
2002, Pick 224: DE Derrius Monroe, Virginia Tech
2003, Pick 231: WR Talman Gardner, Florida State
2004, Pick 240: LB Colby Bockwoldt, BYU
2005, Pick 232: DT Jimmy Verdon, Arizona State
2006, Pick 210: G Zach Strief, Northwestern
2006, Pick 252: WR Marques Colston, Hofstra
2007, Pick 220: LB Marvin Mitchell, Tennessee
2008, Pick 237: WR Adrian Arrington, Michigan
2010, Pick 239: QB Sean Canfield, Oregon State
2011, Pick 236: DL Greg Romeus, Pittsburgh
2011, Pick 243: LB Nate Bussey, Illinois
2012, Pick 234: OL Marcel Jones, Nebraska
2015, Pick 230: RB Marcus Murphy, Missouri
2016, Pick 237: RB Daniel Lasco, California
2018, Pick 245: C Will Clapp, LSU
2019, Pick 231: TE Alize Mack, Notre Dame
2019, Pick 244: LB Kaden Elliss, Idaho
2020, Pick 240: QB Tommy Stevens, Mississippi State
2021, Pick 255: WR Kawaan Baker, South Alabama
