Saints worst and best first-round pick over the last decade

The New Orleans Saints have a prestigious drafting history. Most of the players that make up their active roster are players that they draft. Guys like Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Cameron Jordan, Marcus Williams, and Marshon Lattimore are all products of Saints draft picks.

While they have had some good ones, they have also had some bad ones. Here are the best and worst from the last decade.

WORST – 2015, No. 31 overall, ILB, Stephone Anthony

Stephone Anthony was the Saints first-round draft pick in 2015. Even though he was the No. 31 overall pick which is almost the last of the first round, he did not have that type of a career. He played just two seasons in New Orleans before being released.

Anthony came out of college and started his entire rookie season. In fact, he had a pretty good showing in 2015. He finished with 112 tackles, five tackles for a loss, four hits on the quarterback, and 1.0 sacks in 16 started games.

Looking at the New Orleans Saints draft history over the last decade, here are the worst and the best first-round picks in team history.

In 2016, Anthony dealt with a nagging hamstring injury that led him to only appear in three games that season. After that, the Saints released him. He ended up coming back for another uneventful one-year stint in 2019 before the team released him again.

BEST – 2011, No. 24 overall, DE, Cameron Jordan

Cameron Jordan has been a staple on the Saints line ever since his arrival to the team in 2011. The Saints drafted Jordan with their first-round pick at No. 24 overall out of the University of California. Jordan has perennially been one of the best defenders on the team.

Since his rookie season, Jordan has totaled six Pro Bowl appearances and one first-team All-Pro selection. He has 514 tackles, 94.5 sacks, 124 tackles for a loss, 184 hits on the quarterback, 10 fumble recoveries, 11 forced fumbles, and one interception.

The most impressive thing about Jordan though is that he has never missed a regular-season game in 10 seasons. He has played in all 160 games out of 160 possible games throughout his career. That much durability is something to be astonished by.