Saints top 10 worst ever picks in the NFL Draft

Between now and the NFL Draft beginning April 25, we will have a series reflecting back on New Orleans Saints history in the draft. We’ll be highlighting the good, the bad and the intriguing decisions. We will also discuss some of the undrafted free agent gems and the biggest mistakes the team has made in conjunction with the draft.

The Saints have had multiple 1st-round picks seven times and years where didn’t make their first selection until Round two on six occasions. Only once (2012) did the Black and Gold not pick until Round 3.

Today, a rundown of the worst draft picks in Saints history.

“Buyer beware” has always been the motto of the league for the annual draft.

The following are players whom the organization badly missed on with their top picks. A couple of these draft choices have been listed among the all-time worst top picks by any team in NFL history. While the team has hit on their fair share of Rickey Jacksons and Willie Roafs, they have also whiffed on others.

Here is a list of the 10 most disastrous early selections the New Orleans Saints have ever made, in reverse order:

10. Payton Turner: Some may be a bit surprised to see his name on this list, but the jury is out on the 28th overall pick in 2021. Injuries have curtailed his career with only 15 game appearances in three seasons. The 6-6, 270-pounder has accounted for 29 tackles and three sacks.

The 2024 season will be a major determining factor for Turner, who has never really been considered a legit contender for playing time on a defensive line where opportunities for significant playing time exist. The University Houston product spent time on injured reserve with shoulder and turf toe injuries in 2021 and 2013, respectively.

The Saints spent a second-round pick on Isaiah Foskey last year and signed veteran free agent Chase Young this offseason to shore up a spot where Turner should have already emerged. If you think Trevor Penning deserves to be on this list, consider that Turner enters his fourth year while Penning is going into his third season. Let’s hope Turner and Penning take steps forward in 2024 to distances their names from this kind of list.

9. Kevin Hardy: It’s probably not totally fair to add the former Notre Dame defensive tackle as a serious miss since he never suited up for the Saints in a regular-season game. The 7th overall pick in the 1968 draft was swiped from the Saints roster by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle as punishment for the organization signing former 49ers standout Dave Parks when free agency was nothing like it is today.

The Saints forfeited their 1st-round pick in 1969 as well as losing Hardy. It turned into a positive outcome for the organization; Parks played five seasons (1968-’72) for the Black and Gold, accumulating 149 catches for 2,254 yards and 16 scores. Hardy spent five seasons in the league with the 49ers, Packers and Chargers as nothing more than a rotational player at best.

8. Les Kelley: The Saints top pick in the inaugural draft for the organization, Kelley was the team’s second 1st-round pick (26th overall) in the 1967 draft. The first overall pick, which belonged to the Saints as an expansion team, was sent to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for quarterback Gary Cuozzo.

The 6-3, 233-pound Kelley was a running back at Alabama but was converted to linebacker during his rookie campaign. The team relied upon Jim Taylor, Tom Barrington, Ernie Wheelwright, Randy Shultz and rookie Don McCall to handle rushing duties. Kelley played in 30 games during his three seasons in the Big Easy, earning no starts.

7. Wesley Carroll: The 42nd overall pick in the 2nd round of the 1991 draft, Carroll spent two seasons in the Crescent City with five starts, catching 36 passes for 476 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-0, 183-pound product from Miami backed up Eric Martin, Quin Early, and Floyd Turner. Still on the board when Carroll heard his name called by the Saints was eventual Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Aeneas Williams.

6. Lindsey Scott: Noted more for his catch and run for a 93-yard touchdown on a pass from Georgia quarterback Buck Belue as the Bulldogs pulled off a final-second 26-21 win over rival Florida in 1980, Scott’s time in Saints’ colors over four years was less dramatic. The 13th overall selection in 1982 never had more than 278 yards receiving in any one season. He had 22 starts, recording 69 catches for 864 yards and one score.

5. Larry Burton: The Saints were smitten with his world-class speed, which earned the Purdue wide receiver a spot in the 1972 Summer Olympics where he held the world record for 60 meters. Grabbed 7th overall by the Saints in the 1975 draft, the team had two 1st-round picks that year and also selected Ohio State guard Kurt Schumacher five picks later.

Burton proved he had hands of stone, seemingly dropping more passes than he caught. He did latch onto 35 passes for 615 yards and four touchdowns during his three seasons. Schumacher, the 12th overall selection, didn’t fare much better. During his four seasons with the club, he started 20 games out of 56 opportunities for a squad that recorded just 16 victories during that span.

4. Rick Middleton: Making Middleton the 13th overall pick in the 1974 draft, New Orleans famously passed on his Ohio State teammate Randy Gradishar and future Hall of Fame receiver Lynn Swann. The 6-2, 228-pound former Ohio State linebacker Middleton played two seasons in New Orleans with few starts, mostly contributing on special teams only.

3. Shawn Knight: The 6-6, 290-pound Knight was the 11th overall pick in the 1987 draft. Only one campaign in a Saints uniform was enough to prove that the organization had made a serious miscalculation on the BYU defensive lineman. He was traded for a 5-10 nose tackle, Denver’s Ted Gregory, who was another bust draft pick. Neither organization claimed a victory in that transaction.

2. Erxleben: The 11th overall pick in the 1979 draft was a complete “train wreck” from the get-go, both on and off the field.

The former Texas Longhorns star was the 2nd highest kicker draft choice in NFL history. He was a three-time All-American as a punter and converted on a then NCAA record 67-yard field goal in 1977.

During his time in New Orleans (1979-’83, 58 games), he attempted eight field goals, converting on four. He held a 33.1 punting average. In his very first NFL game in the Superdome against the rival Falcons, a bad snap from center sailed over his head and rolled to the New Orleans goal line. He picked up the ball, attempting a chest pass which was intercepted by an Atlanta special teamer and returned for the game-winning score en route to a 40-34 Falcons win in front of 70,940 stunned fans.

Erxleben’s career and life spiraled downward from that point. Twenty years later (1999), he was convicted of securities fraud, mail fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 84 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $28 million in restitution. In 2013, Erzleben was once again arrested on various additional federal related charges on a Ponzi scheme and was again sentenced to 90 months.

1. Jonathan Sullivan: Although Erxleben’s scenario is tough to beat, what the 2003 1st-round pick cost the Saints would be tough to calibrate.

Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. had him ranked as the 19th best overall player. The Saints surrendered their 17th and 18th picks in the 1st round, plus the 54th overall selection in round two, in order to move up to the 6th spot to grab the University of Georgia product. The defensive tackle reported to camp out of shape at 350 pounds. It was all downhill from there.

During his three inauspicious seasons in New Orleans, he recorded 78 stops in 16 starts. He was inactive for the first eight games of the 2004 season due to a combination of poor play, bad attitude and lackluster work ethic. He was always looking for a meal; during a Saints’ home game, he showed up in the press box for the pregame meal and cut in line in front of me.

Next time: The best draft picks the Saints ever made in each round.