The NFL draft always carries an element of risk, and the New Orleans Saints have burned themselves at times by flying too close to the sun. Trading up and investing too many resources in players who weren’t up to the task has cost them. With the 2023 draft just days away, it’s worth looking back on their draft history under Mickey Loomis (who was promoted to general manager way back in 2002) as a bit of a cautionary tale.
There’s a sliding scale for deciding what separates a good pick from a bad one — or at least different degrees of success. A seventh-round pick is just happy to make the team. A first-round pick should be competing for Pro Bowl consideration. And there’s a wide span of outcomes in-between.
Still, there’s a convincing case to be made for saying every player on this list didn’t meet expectations:
2002: DB Keyuo Craver, Nebraska
- Round 4, Pick 125
You can’t be too hard on a fourth-round pick, but Craver was out of the league within three years after being suspended three times for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He went on to have a successful career in the Canadian league but it’s a shame things didn’t work out in New Orleans.
2003: DT Johnathan Sullivan, Georgia
- Round 1, Pick 6
The Saints made a bold trade to go get Sullivan, but he only started one season for them while bagging 1.5 sacks in 36 games and struggling to maintain his playing-weight. He’s one of the more notorious draft busts on Mickey Loomis’s record, but this experience hasn’t kept Loomis from continuing to trade up in the draft.
2004: LB Courtney Watson, Notre Dame
- Round 2, Pick 60
The Saints had a solid haul in 2004 — Will Smith started for most of a decade at defensive end, Devery Henderson was a key part of the passing game for years, and Mike Karney helped set the blueprint for how fullbacks could find success in New Orleans. But Watson only lasted 21 games with the Saints before he was traded to the Buffalo Bills, who waived him after training camp.
2005: WR Chase Lyman, California
- Round 4, Pick 118
Lyman was a highly-regarded pick at the time, having been a favorite target of Aaron Rodgers’ in college after excelling as a two-sport athlete in high school. But he suffered two ACL tears and retired from pro football without ever playing a down for New Orleans.
2006: DB Josh Lay, Pittsburgh
- Round 6, Pick 174
Lay caught a really bad break by being part of the legendary 2006 Saints draft class — all but two players from that haul appeared in 100-plus games in the NFL, and he was one of the few guys left out (along with wide receiver Mike Hass). He bounced around the NFL for a few years before moving to the Arena League.
2007: RB Antonio Pittman, Ohio State
- Round 4, Pick 107
Pittman was a fine part of the running back rotation — with other teams, because an undrafted free agent by the name of Pierre Thomas took his roster spot in their rookie training camp. That’s a competition he should have run away with, but Thomas proved to be a special talent.
2008: DT Sedrick Ellis, USC
- Round 1, Pick 7
The Saints just didn’t have great luck trading into the top 10 for defensive tackles. Ellis played out his four-year contract with New Orleans and signed a modest deal with the Chicago Bears as a free agent, but chose to return his signing bonus and walk away from football altogether.
2009: DB Chip Vaughn, Wake Forest
- Round 4, Pick 116
This was a toss-up between Vaughn and his college teammate Stanley Arnoux (picked two slots after him), but Arnoux appeared in nine games whereas Vaughn only had three appearances in a Saints uniform. Neither of those returns are great value on mid-round picks.
2010: T Charles Brown, USC
- Round 2, Pick 64
The Saints spent years prepping Brown to take over as their starting left tackle, but he was devastated in his first real action at that spot and never really recovered. They’re very fortunate Terron Armstead fell into their hands a few years later to lock down the left tackle job for a decade.
2011: LB Martez Wilson, Illinois
- Round 3, Pick 72
Wilson was the first of several “tweeners” the Saints rolled out as players they believed could line up at both linebacker and defensive end, but he never settled into either spot and was let go after 38 games, having bagged just 5 sacks along the w ay.
2012: WR Nick Toon, Wisconsin
- Round 4, Pick 122
Toon struggled to catch on in a receiving corps that could have really used his help at the time, what with Marques Colston and Devery Henderson getting up there in years, but his Saints career ended with too many drops in practice that led to a rare call-out from Drew Brees.
2013: DE Rufus Johnson, Tarleton State
- Round 6, Pick 183
This is really tough to call. Kenny Vaccaro didn’t meet expectations as a first-round pick (who had a really strong rookie year), but he hung around the league for a long time and was a big part in some critical Saints victories. Terron Armstead and John Jenkins are still in the league. Kenny Stills put up 4,911 receiving yards as a fifth-round pick. That leaves Johnson as the odd man out, even if it feels like punching down to criticize a sixth-round pick for failing to make the team.
2014: DB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Nebraska
- Round 2, Pick 58
The Saints overlooked Jean-Baptiste’s dubious game tape for his impressive measurables, envisioning him as the next Richard Sherman (only without the competitive qualities that made Sherman so special). He only played in five games for them before being cut.
2015: LB Stephone Anthony, Clemson
- Round 1, Pick 31
Anthony racked up a lot of tackles in his rookie year but couldn’t keep it up once Rob Ryan was replaced as defensive coordinator, lacking the vision and communication skills to run the defense under Dennis Allen. He hung around on special teams for a few years but didn’t justify the cost to acquire him.
2016: RB Daniel Lasco, California
- Round 7, Pick 237
Lasco would still be playing if not for a frightening neck injury. He was a standout on special teams for the Saints but had his career unfortunately cut short through no fault of his own. The Saints hit on all four of their other picks in 2016, each of whom signed new contracts or extensions this offseason.
2017: DE Al-Quadin Muhammad, Miami
- Round 6, Pick 196
Muhammad was a good player, and still is — he’ll be playing somewhere in the fall after being let go by the Bears as a salary cap casualty this spring. He just has the bad luck of being part of a historically-great draft class.
2018: DE Marcus Davenport, UTSA
- Round 1, Pick 14
Davenport’s Saints career ended with a demotion to a backup role and being ejected for fighting with an opponent, which was really disappointing — to say nothing of him only racking up 21.5 sacks in 63 games, having missed a lot of games with injuries. He didn’t justify the draft picks traded to get him in black and gold.
2019: S Saquan Hampton, Rutgers
- Round 6, Pick 196
You could make the case for tight end Alize Mack (picked a round later than Hampton), who never played a game for New Orleans, but Hampton had more opportunities and didn’t do much with them before being let go. He bounced around the league for a few years but isn’t currently with a team.
2020: LB Zack Baun, Wisconsin
- Round 3, Pick 74
How much of Baun’s lackluster career so far is his fault? The Saints took him out of his pass-rushing position in college and asked him to be an off-ball linebacker dropping into coverage, and he hasn’t done well in that role. That they traded up to get him with that vision in mind is worrisome. He’s played nearly three times as many snaps on special teams (908) as on defense (359).
2021: QB Ian Book, Notre Dame
- Round 4, Pick 133
Payton Turner has not impressed as a former first-round pick, but at least he isn’t already on another roster. Book flamed out quickly in New Orleans and was let go at the end of his second training camp.
2022: DT Jordan Jackson, Air Force
- Round 6, Pick 194
Again, you don’t want to be so hard on a late-round pick, but Jackson was getting bypassed for free agents signed off the street when the Saints could have called him up from the practice squad last season. Now he’s left town for the Denver Broncos. You never want to see a draftee on another squad less than a year after being picked.
