The New Orleans Saints have a proud history of finding diamonds in the rough during undrafted free agency, signing rookies who weren’t fortunate to be picked during the selection event. It’s something that they’ve always valued with Mickey Loomis as general manager, but which really took off as a point of emphasis once Sean Payton took over as head coach. With the next wave of undrafted rookies looking to make their mark, it’s a great time to look back on the players who came before them.
We’re only counting players who signed with the Saints as rookie free agents — so guys like Delvin Breaux (who played in Canada) and Lance Moore (who started out in NFL Europe) were not included, even if they’re similar success stories who did not hear their names called from the stage on draft day. That’s also the case for former undrafted free agents like Chase Daniel and Brian De La Puente who landed in New Orleans after getting their pro starts elsewhere around the league.
1
2006: P Steve Weatherford, Illinois
2
2007: RB Pierre Thomas, Illinois
3
2008: LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Boston College
4
2008: K Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma
5
2009: LB Jonathan Casillas, Wisconsin
6
2010: RB Chris Ivory, Washington State/Tiffin
7
2011: S Isa Abdul-Quddus, Fordham
8
2013: TE Josh Hill, Idaho State
9
2012: WR Joe Morgan, Illinois
10
2013: RB Khiry Robinson, Blinn College/West Texas A&M
11
2013: OL Tim Lelito, Grand Valley State
12
2014: DE Kasim Edebali, Boston College
13
2014: CB Brian Dixon, Northwest Missouri State
14
2015: WR Brandon Coleman, Rutgers
15
2015: WR Willie Snead IV, Ball State
16
2016: WR Tommylee Lewis, Northern Illinois
17
2016: CB Ken Crawley, Colorado
18
2016: K Wil Lutz, Georgia State
19
2017: DB Justin Hardee, Illinois
20
2018: DT Taylor Stallworth, South Carolina
21
2018: OL Cameron Tom, Southern Mississippi
22
2018: WR Keith Kirkwood, Temple
23
2019: WR Deonte Harty, Assumption College
24
2019: DE Carl Granderson, Wyoming
25
2019: DT Shy Tuttle, Tennessee
26
2020: DT Malcolm Roach, Texas
27
2020: WR Marquez Callaway, Tennessee
28
2021: P Blake Gillikin, Penn State
29
2022: OL Lewis Kidd, Montana State
30
2022: WR Rashid Shaheed, Weber State
