NFL roster cuts are right around the corner, and the New Orleans Saints are so close to ending one of their worst trends. The Saints have waived at least one rookie draft pick in each of the last five years, but their 2023 draft class is poised to break that streak — all seven players are in good position to make the team and help out this year, including late-rounders like safety Jordan Howden and wide receiver A.T. Perry.
You can’t say that about many of the draft classes that preceded them. Between poor planning for rookie draft picks and position valuation (spending too many picks on areas that were already flush with talent), the Saints have wasted a lot of draft picks in recent years. Thankfully that trend appears to be ending.
Here are all of the rookie draft picks the Saints released during roster cuts from 2022 to 2018:
2022: DT Jordan Jackson
Jackson, a sixth-round pick last season out of the Air Force Academy, opened his rookie year on the practice squad. When injuries hit the group late in the season the Saints opted to sign free agents off the street to play rather than activate him. Once his contract expired, he opted to go back to Colorado and sign with the Denver Broncos rather than re-up with New Orleans.
Additionally, rookie linebacker D’Marco Jackson went down with a season-ending knee injury in training camp, but we aren’t going to hold that against him.
2021: WR Kawaan Baker
A seventh-round pick in 2021, Baker wasn’t able to win a roster spot in his first training camp — instead, the Saints opened Week 1 with Marquez Callaway, Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris (who later changed his surname to Hardy), Ty Montgomery, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey on the 53-man roster. They brought Chris Hogan out of semi-retirement as a lacrosse star before Week 1, too. Baker bounced around the league, making stops with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles before returning to New Orleans last year.
2020: TE Tommy Stevens
Stevens had some experience running Taysom Hill-style plays in college but the Saints made that his full-time role, and he flopped. Sean Payton scuttled an undrafted free agent deal the former Mississippi State quarterback had with the Carolina Panthers so he could trade back into the draft at the last minute and pick him, but the Panthers got Stevens anyway when the Saints waived him from their practice squad that November.
2019: TE Alize Mack
Picked in the seventh round 13 slots ahead of linebacker Kaden Elliss, Mack endured a rough training camp with New Orleans and never seemed to get on the same page with his quarterbacks. The Saints let him go from their practice squad before September ended as frustrations continued. He’s since signed with several NFL teams and the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas, and is currently competing for a roster spot with the Saints’ Week 1-opponent Tennessee Titans.
2018: OL Rick Leonard
A surprise pick in the fourth round (at No. 127 overall, the exact same slot as 2023 rookie quarterback Jake Haener), Leonard didn’t make much of an impact over the summer and was released during roster cuts. The Saints brought him back to the practice squad but cut him again in October. Six other teams gave him opportunities but he never caught on with one of them for long.
2018: DB Natrell Jamerson
Jamerson was another one of several 2018 picks who didn’t make the cut; selected in the fifth round out of Wisconsin, he struggled to convert from safety to cornerback for New Orleans and was let go during roster cuts. The Houston Texans picked him up and he suited up for six different NFL teams (including a brief reunion with the Saints) before landing with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.
2018: DB Kamrin Moore
Picked in the sixth round out of Boston College (with a selection the Saints got back from the Arizona Cardinals in a trade for Adrian Peterson), Moore struggled to convert from cornerback to safety for New Orleans and was let go during roster cuts. The New York Giants picked him up off of waivers.
2018: RB Boston Scott
Scott enjoyed a strong summer with the Saints and won over a lot of fans as a local product from Zachary High School and Louisiana Tech. But the Saints fumbled him. They cut him before Week 1 and tried to sneak him onto their practice squad, protecting another backup running back in Mike Gillislee, who they cut six weeks later. Scott went on to carve out a nice career for himself with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl ring and recognition as NFC Offensive Player of the Week at one point.
