- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Saints ranked #1 team at drafting since 2006.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:21 am
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:21 am
An analysis of the past 20 drafts has ranked the Saints as the best drafting team over that span.
>
Here are our draft class rankings, value above/below expected taking picks value into consideration, and first round picks in a redraft:
2006: #2 draft class - 189% above expected (Evans #1, Colston #6, Strief #17)
2007: #16 draft class - exactly as expected (Jermon Bushrod #27)
2008: #12 draft class - 21% above expected (Carl Nicks #5)
2009: #21 draft class - 24% below expected (Malcolm Jenkins #20)
2010: #3 draft class - 81% above expected (Jimmy Graham #14)
2011: #10 draft class - 32% above expected (Cam Jordan #8)
2012: #9 draft class - 84% above expected (Akiem Hicks #22)
2013: #3 draft class - 69% above expected (Terron Armstead #5)
2014: #28 draft class - 32% below expected (Brandin Cooks #16)
2015: #32 draft class - 70% below expected (none)
2016: #1 draft class - 116% above expected (Michael Thomas #5, David Onyamata #18)
2017: #1 draft class - 142% above expected (Ryan Ramczyk #6, Alvin Kamara #10, Trey Hendrickson #13, Marcus Williams #17, Marshon Lattimore #29)
2018: #24 draft class - 28% below expected (none)
2019: #2 draft class - 120% above expected (Erik McCoy #23, Kaden Elliss #29)
2020: #10 draft class - 8% above expected (Zack Baun #15)
2021: #26 draft class - 52% below expected (none)
2022: #28 draft class - 49% below expected (Chris Olave #14)
2023: #30 draft class - 86% below expected (none)
2024: #20 draft class - (none)
2025: #9 draft class - (Kelvin Banks #4, Tyler Shough #11)
Here are the draft rankings in order of AVG value over expected 2006-2025:
New Orleans +2.3
Philadelphia +1.2
Baltimore +1
Kansas City +1
Green Bay +0.7
Dallas +0.2
Pittsburgh +0.2
Seattle +0.2
San Francisco -0.4
Denver -0.7
Buffalo -0.9
Houston -1
New England -1.1
Indianapolis -1.2
Rams -1.4
Minnesota -1.6
Atlanta -1.7
Carolina -1.8
Detroit -1.9
Miami -1.9
Chargers -2.4
Cincinnati -2.5
Tennessee -2.6
Washington -2.6
Chicago -2.9
Tampa Bay -3.5
Las Vegas -3.8
Jets -4
Giants -4.2
Jacksonville -4.3
Arizona -4.5
Cleveland -5
> Here are our draft class rankings, value above/below expected taking picks value into consideration, and first round picks in a redraft:
2006: #2 draft class - 189% above expected (Evans #1, Colston #6, Strief #17)
2007: #16 draft class - exactly as expected (Jermon Bushrod #27)
2008: #12 draft class - 21% above expected (Carl Nicks #5)
2009: #21 draft class - 24% below expected (Malcolm Jenkins #20)
2010: #3 draft class - 81% above expected (Jimmy Graham #14)
2011: #10 draft class - 32% above expected (Cam Jordan #8)
2012: #9 draft class - 84% above expected (Akiem Hicks #22)
2013: #3 draft class - 69% above expected (Terron Armstead #5)
2014: #28 draft class - 32% below expected (Brandin Cooks #16)
2015: #32 draft class - 70% below expected (none)
2016: #1 draft class - 116% above expected (Michael Thomas #5, David Onyamata #18)
2017: #1 draft class - 142% above expected (Ryan Ramczyk #6, Alvin Kamara #10, Trey Hendrickson #13, Marcus Williams #17, Marshon Lattimore #29)
2018: #24 draft class - 28% below expected (none)
2019: #2 draft class - 120% above expected (Erik McCoy #23, Kaden Elliss #29)
2020: #10 draft class - 8% above expected (Zack Baun #15)
2021: #26 draft class - 52% below expected (none)
2022: #28 draft class - 49% below expected (Chris Olave #14)
2023: #30 draft class - 86% below expected (none)
2024: #20 draft class - (none)
2025: #9 draft class - (Kelvin Banks #4, Tyler Shough #11)
Here are the draft rankings in order of AVG value over expected 2006-2025:
New Orleans +2.3
Philadelphia +1.2
Baltimore +1
Kansas City +1
Green Bay +0.7
Dallas +0.2
Pittsburgh +0.2
Seattle +0.2
San Francisco -0.4
Denver -0.7
Buffalo -0.9
Houston -1
New England -1.1
Indianapolis -1.2
Rams -1.4
Minnesota -1.6
Atlanta -1.7
Carolina -1.8
Detroit -1.9
Miami -1.9
Chargers -2.4
Cincinnati -2.5
Tennessee -2.6
Washington -2.6
Chicago -2.9
Tampa Bay -3.5
Las Vegas -3.8
Jets -4
Giants -4.2
Jacksonville -4.3
Arizona -4.5
Cleveland -5
16
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:29 am to saintsfan92612
this is going to trigger a lot of folks around here.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:30 am to saintsfan92612
Being ranked 31st in the Top 10 had me curious. In that 20 year span, they only had 3 top 10 picks. Reggie, Ellis & Banks. That Ellis pick really sunk that value, I'm also sure Reggie falls in the overpicked category.
The DB ranking stands out as a bit surprising until you remember the number of projects this team drafted in those early rounds.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:31 am to Chad504boy
quote:
this is going to trigger a lot of folks around here.
Everyone knows we hit the occasional draft outside of the park
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:38 am to Chad504boy
quote:Hugely. But people here have super unrealistic expectations on draft picks. About 1/3rd of 1st rounders are considered busts. Only about 50% of picks in rounds 4-7 even make the initial roster, and under 10% go on to be starters for even a 2 year period.
this is going to trigger a lot of folks around here.
And the chart in the op actually follows pretty well with what we already know, in that we had some of the best drafts in history, but also had a few complete bombs, especially under Allen (which was also an issue in Oakland).
Even with the Allen years, and down Payton years, we are still top 10 in wins over that period, so it also goes beyond the draft, but that's been a key component.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:39 am to bonethug0180
As Shough becomes an All Pro type qb, that class is going to skyrocket to top 5.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:40 am to bonethug0180
seriously. We have the best draft hit percentage of any team and it is still under 30%.
Saints 29%
Cowboys 27%
Ravens 27%
Eagles 26%
Browns 15%
Drafting is an absolute crapshoot and yes we miss on WAY more picks than we hit...but we miss less than any other team.
Saints 29%
Cowboys 27%
Ravens 27%
Eagles 26%
Browns 15%
Drafting is an absolute crapshoot and yes we miss on WAY more picks than we hit...but we miss less than any other team.
This post was edited on 4/30/26 at 11:42 am
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:40 am to SlowFlowPro
6 in the top 3, and another 4 in the top 10 vs 3 in the bottom 3, and another 3 in the bottom 10 says they hit it out of the park more often than they completely whiff.
With that said, some of the individual results are a little curious.
Foskey still being a Likely Bust made me laugh, I think we can call it.
Surprised to see Alonate being a bust
Baun, Al Woods & Ninkovich all jump out as being a top steal, as this is based on time with other teams
Davenport in the green???
With that said, some of the individual results are a little curious.
Foskey still being a Likely Bust made me laugh, I think we can call it.
Surprised to see Alonate being a bust
Baun, Al Woods & Ninkovich all jump out as being a top steal, as this is based on time with other teams
Davenport in the green???
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:51 am to Weekend Warrior79
Davenport being green is pretty crazy but his class kind of sucked.
He was still a solid guy if we was drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round or so... we just gave up WAY too much for him. Still couldn't beleive we traded up and didn't take Lamar.
He was still a solid guy if we was drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round or so... we just gave up WAY too much for him. Still couldn't beleive we traded up and didn't take Lamar.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 11:57 am to saintsfan92612
Davenport was an extremely good player, and the grades are based on their play and I don't think they take injuries into account. As a player, Davenport is THE example of a star that can't stay healthy (aka Zion).
This post was edited on 4/30/26 at 11:58 am
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:05 pm to saintsfan92612
quote:I'm guessing for this one they are defining hit rate as a 3+ year starter, and if so that's an extremely high number.
seriously. We have the best draft hit percentage of any team and it is still under 30%.
Saints 29%
Cowboys 27%
Ravens 27%
Eagles 26%
Browns 15%
Drafting is an absolute crapshoot and yes we miss on WAY more picks than we hit...but we miss less than any other team.
But yeah I tell people all the time if you think we draft bad just go look at the rest of the league. We certainly have our down years too, but about twice as many up years.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:16 pm to saintsfan92612
Townedrunkard hasn't posted yet to dispute this either because he's embarrassed or because he had a stroke. I'm bookmarking the hell out of this one.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:27 pm to saintsfan92612
Disagree with them classifying Brian Bresee as a "likely bust". I don't think of him that way, and obviously the Saints don't either after picking up his 5th year option. For a late first rounder, he's been fine. Not great, but not a bust, just fine.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:31 pm to Burt Macklin
I think they mean bust relative to his draft position, not necessarily as someone who will be out of the league in a year.
Had he been a late second rounder I think that puts him more of a push in their metrics. So all of it is relative.
Had he been a late second rounder I think that puts him more of a push in their metrics. So all of it is relative.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:31 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
Everyone knows we hit the occasional draft outside of the park
We do. However this also indicates that we weren’t as bad in the other years as many believe.
I will say that we have let go of some very talented draft picks the thrived on other teams. So even though we drafted well, we didn’t always benefit from some players best years.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 12:39 pm to Seeker
While we may not have always benefited, it shows the draft process is working.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 2:30 pm to SlowFlowPro
Hmmm no.
The sell the team, Loomis is banging the owner, he makes all the picks crowd is out there in force.
The sell the team, Loomis is banging the owner, he makes all the picks crowd is out there in force.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 3:01 pm to saintsfan92612
The 2014 and 2015 drafts were so dumb. Sean was being cute to show how smart he was and it seemed like he was skipping over obvious picks to pick random arse mfs. It pisses me off because we wasted a few prime Brees years because of it.
This post was edited on 4/30/26 at 3:02 pm
Posted on 4/30/26 at 3:09 pm to saintsfan92612
But man…. Loomis is f’n turrible. Bunch of clowns and you know who you are.
Posted on 4/30/26 at 3:39 pm to saintsfan92612
quote:
2021: #26 draft class - 52% below expected (none)
2022: #28 draft class - 49% below expected (Chris Olave #14)
2023: #30 draft class - 86% below expected (none)
2024: #20 draft class - (none)
This is why we knew a rebuild was needed.
Payton stopped caring and Allen was just plain dumb.
We have conducted two of the three drafts needed to build a contender.
Need this draft to hit with Tyson and Miller and next year hot on two more and then in 2027 the Saints could possibly contend.
Page 1 of 3
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News