ESPN: Saints' Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling were the best-ever picks at their draft slots
Here's a crowning achievement in offseason content from ESPN's Ben Solak, who highlighted the best player picked at every slot in the NFL draft; or at least the modern-era 262-pick draft, rather than the hundreds-deep drafts of years past. And several key figures in New Orleans Saints history made the cut throughout this exercise.
The first notable Saints player to make the list wasn't actually drafted by New Orleans, but Drew Brees has, for now, taken an edge over Lamar Jackson as the best pick at No. 32 overall. Here's how Solak made that call:
Picking between Brees and Lamar Jackson was agonizing, so I chickened out and picked the guy whose career is over, and as such requires no prognostication. While Brees never won a regular-season MVP, he did win a Super Bowl and a Super Bowl MVP, and I imagine Jackson would trade his two MVPs for Lombardi hardware right about now. This pick might flip by next season, though ...
But next up, at No. 51, was Rickey Jackson -- the best defender in Saints franchise history, who set the standard other great talents like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis have spent their careers chasing. After waffling between Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier and Arizona Cardinals star Calais Campbell at No. 50, Solak went with Jackson over Philadelphia Eagles fan favorite wideout A.J. Brown:
A similar debate here as the pick above, with Jackson -- one Super Bowl ring, five All-Pro teams -- facing off against A.J. Brown, who might become one of the great wide receivers of this era. Again, I lean to the established Hall of Famer, but five of Brown's six seasons have cleared 1,000 yards. If he keeps that up for another five seasons, his résumé will hold up.
A couple of picks later, one of Jackson's "Dome Patrol" teammates made the list at No. 60. Here's why Solak argues Pat Swilling earned the nod:
The 1991 Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time All-Pro, Swilling was a bit of a journeyman (played for the Saints, Lions and Raiders), but he was at his best for the team that drafted him. One wild note from a 2011 column by an up-and-coming writer named Adam Schefter: Swilling has the most playoff losses (six) with no wins of any player in NFL history.
And then you have Jimmy Graham helping to round out the top 100:
Graham was exactly what a third-round pick should be: a big dart throw that paid dividends on the risk. His success in the end zone -- his 89 touchdowns rank fourth among all tight ends -- was his calling card. Well, either that or mentioning that he used to play basketball in college.
What about Day 3 picks? Draftees for the Saints outside the top 100 included defensive end Trey Hendrickson (103), right guard Jahri Evans (108), wide receiver Eric Martin (179), and wide receiver Marques Colston (252), while other players who put themselves on the map for their time in New Orleans included Darren Sproles (130) and Scott Shanle (251). Solak included this writeup on Evans, who is up for the Pro Football Hall of Fame again in 2025:
Evans gets the nod for his 169 starts with the Saints, which included four straight first-team All-Pros from 2009 to 2012. But a couple franchise cult heroes deserve mention below Evans -- Jaguars QB David Garrard (2002) and Jets WR Jerricho Cotchery (2004).
So who nearly made the cut? Solak gave shoutouts for Saints draft picks like wide receiver Michael Thomas (47), running back Alvin Kamara (67), left tackle Terron Armstead (75), Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen (86) and cornerback Mike McKenzie (87), plus defensive end Rob Ninkovich (who was passed over for Hall of Fame cornerback Ken Riley at No. 135), as well as linebacker Demario Davis (77) and wideout Joe Horn (135 again), who weren't drafted by the Saints but who did play their best football for New Orleans.
It's an interesting premise for an article. We're not sure we agree with all of the picks, but it's a safe bet we wouldn't put as much time into this as Solak clearly did. What do you think he got wrong? Which calls did he get right? Let us know.
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