Will Smith had a spectacular college career where at Ohio State, he was an All-American who won the BCS Championship and was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. New Orleans landed him with their 18thOverall Pick in 2004, and it was as a Saint where he played his entire career.
If you are drafted in the First Round, there are high expectations, and Stan Brock fulfilled in the longevity and durability department.
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.
The brother of former Chicago Bear Center, Jay Hilgenberg, Joel Hilgenberg was also an NFL Center, who played his college ball at Iowa.
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
From Notre Dame, Dave Waymer played the entire decade of the 1980s with the New Orleans Saints, who took the Defensive Back with their Second Round Pick.
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.
At the University of Alabama, Mark Ingram was a superstar. The Crimson Tide Running Back captured the coveted Heisman Trophy in 2009, and his school won the National Championship. He did this as a sophomore, and while he regressed due to knee issues as a Junior, Ingram was still expected to be a high pick, which he was, when the Saints took him 28thOverall in 2011.
Joe Horn was more than just a flashy way of celebrating a touchdown (remember the phone in the goalpost?).
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 to him being drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the Fourth Round in 1986.
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.
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.
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.
Was Marques Colston a superstar?
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.
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.
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.
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.