Top 50 New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints first came to fruition in 1967, bringing the city their first major professional sports team. The Saints were awful for their first 20 years of existence, only having two .500 years in that timeframe, and it took until 2000 for the team to record their first playoff win.
Hurricane Katrina forced the Saints to play their entire 2005 season on the road, and for a time it looked like they might relocate. It didn’t happen, and with Quarterback, Drew Brees, they went to their first Super Bowl and won it (Super Bowl XLIV).
The Saints have fielded many competitive teams since, but have yet to return to the Super Bowl.
This list is up to the end of the 2019 season.
Note: Football lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
Drew Brees played the first four years of his career with the San Diego Chargers, but after they drafted Philip Rivers, Brees became expendable. Brees was also coming off shoulder surgery, and many teams were a little gun shy about signing the former Purdue Boilermaker. He did, however, have offers, and he signed with the New Orleans Saints before the 2006 season. That…
If you had the football, the chances were pretty good that Rickey Jackson was going to find you.
When you have a star Quarterback like Drew Brees, you need help to stay upright. When Brees had Jahri Evans, he had a lot less to worry about.
Willie Roaf was the eighth overall pick in 1993, and the Louisiana Tech star did not have to travel far to showcase his skills at the highest level.
During Pat Swilling’s 1985 All-American season at Georgia Tech, he set a record for seven sacks in a game. That would help him land a third round pick in the NFL Draft to the New Orleans Saints, where he would take his pass-rushing skill to the next level.
In the Drew Brees era, the Saints offense has always been the healthier side of the ledger, but this does not mean that there have not been defensive gems who for the Saints during this time. Cameron Jordan is one of those players.
Sam Mills had a long road to get to the New Orleans Saints, but once he got there, he would become one of their defensive leaders.
Joe Horn was more than just a flashy way of celebrating a touchdown (remember the phone in the goalpost?).
The father of Peyton, Eli (and Cooper), Archie Manning, was quite a Quarterback in his own right, and he played for the New Orleans Saints for over a decade.
A soccer player as a teen in his native Denmark, Morten Andersen, came to the United States as part of an exchange program. Just for kicks (pardon the pun), he tried kicking a football, and he was excellent at it and would play as a senior in High School. It got him noticed by Michigan State, who gave him a scholarship. That led…
Michael Thomas was a star Wide Receiver at Ohio State, where he helped the Buckeyes win the College Football Playoff in 2015. The following season, he was taken in the Second Round by the New Orleans Saints, where he eventually became the primary weapon of Quarterback, Drew Brees.
Wayne Martin was from Arkansas, and he played his college ball locally with the Arkansas Razorbacks, where he was one of the best Defensive Ends in the Southwest Conference. The New Orleans Saints agreed, and they used their First Round Pick (19thoverall) to select him.
There were a few who shook their heads when the New Orleans Saints chose Deuce McAllister with their First Round pick in 2001, as they already had Ricky Williams in tow. That perception only lasted a year
Vaughan Johnson was like Sam Mills; in that, he was in the USFL first before latching on with the New Orleans Saints in 1986.
Jimmy Graham began his NFL career backing up Jeremy Shockey, but that would not last long as the former Miami Hurricane was there to become the most prolific Tight End in franchise history.
Eric Martin did not have to travel far after he was drafted as the LSU Tiger, only had to venture East on I-10 to New Orleans, who drafted the Wide Receiver in the Seventh Round in 1985.
If you are drafted in the First Round, there are high expectations, and Stan Brock fulfilled in the longevity and durability department.
Jim Wilks made the most of his opportunity when the lightly regarded defensive player from San Diego State not only made the New Orleans Saints roster despite being a 12thRound Pick, but he stayed with the team for his entire 13-year career.