New Orleans Saints: 2017 Draft the best of the modern era?

It’s rare for a draft class to have more than two or three “hits”. It’s extremely rare for a draft class — like the 2017 New Orleans Saints class — to have zero misses.

Although it’s way too early to say that the New Orleans Saints’ draft class is one of the greatest of all time, is it actually?

The 2006 New Orleans Saints draft class included Reggie Bush, Roman Harper Jahri Evans, Rob Ninkovich, Zach Strief, and Marques Colston. That particular offseason was also the year the Saints acquired quarterback Drew Brees in free agency, so it’s undoubtedly a highly favored group of players by the Saints fan base.

Still, it’s hard to argue that although the Saints’ 2017 NFL Draft class has yet to produce a Super Bowl win, they are not the best draft class of the modern football era.

When I say there were zero misses in this draft class, that is not an exaggeration.

New Orleans Saints 2017 NFL Draft recap

Marshon Lattimore, CB, 1st round

The New Orleans Saints’ top draft pick in the class of 2017 was cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Lattimore has developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL and has 10 interceptions in his first 57 career games.

The Saints picked up Lattimore’s fifth-year option and he will be in line for an absolutely massive contract extension sometime in the next 8-9 months.

Lattimore was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and has been a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Ryan Ramczyk, OT, 1st round

What more needs to be said than this?

Ramczyk has become probably the best and most consistent right tackle in the NFL. If not the best, he’s not outside the top two or three.

The Saints moved up in the first round to get Ramczyk and he had richly rewarded that decision for them. Now, he’s been richly rewarded himself.

Marcus Williams, S, 2nd round

The Saints used a second-round pick on Marcus Williams, whose gaffe in the playoffs his rookie season is a small black eye on what has otherwise been an outstanding first four years in the NFL.

He has 13 career interceptions and 30 passes broken up, and as a result of his work over four seasons with the Saints, he was given the franchise tag in the 2021 offseason as the Saints attempt to keep most of this band together.

Alvin Kamara, RB, 3rd round

You might be shocked to learn that Alvin Kamara doesn’t have a 1,000-yard rushing season.

Despite that fact, Kamara has over 6,000 all-purpose yards in his first four NFL seasons as well as 58 touchdowns from scrimmage and another touchdown as a kickoff returner (rookie season).

Kamara is one of the best all-around backs in football right now and he doesn’t even turn 26 until July.

Alex Anzalone, LB, 3rd round

Ability has never been a concern for Alex Anzalone — availability has been.

The former Florida Gators star linebacker has struggled to stay healthy but did play 50 percent of the Saints’ defensive snaps in 2020 and is getting a one-year prove-it deal with the Detroit Lions and old friend Aaron Glenn (Detroit’s offensive coordinator) in 2021.

Anzalone can do a little bit of everything from the linebacker position but he’s got to find a way to stay on the field. He’s still only going to be 27 this season.

Trey Hendrickson, DE, 3rd round

The third of three third-round picks for the New Orleans Saints in this vaunted draft class, Hendrickson priced himself out of the New Orleans Saints’ means in the 2020 season with a career-high 13.5 sacks and 25 QB hits.

He parlayed his contract year into a four-year, $60 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 offseason.

Al-Quadin Muhammad, DE, 6th round

Muhammad is not often talked about as he was only with the Saints for one season, but he has carved out a significant role for himself with the Indianapolis Colts and over the last two seasons has five sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 15 QB hits, and 25 QB pressures.

He’s missed just one game in the last three seasons and played a career-high 579 snaps in the 2020 season for Indianapolis.

Again, it’s very difficult to find consistent production out of two or three rookies from a given class in the NFL. A lot of general managers like to load up on picks because the more picks you have, the better shot you have at getting more guys to stick.

The Saints were pointed in the 2017 NFL Draft and it worked out for them in a big way.