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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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