The New Orleans Saints 2017 NFL draft class is one of legend inside and outside of the fan base. Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Marcus Williams, and Trey Hendrickson all came to New Orleans in one draft class.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski labeled it as the best class of the 2010’s. This comes off the heels of placing Top 10 of the century in ESPN’s rankings. Sobleski required at least three difference makers for the class to make the cut. The Saints delivered five. Kamara and Lattimore made an instant impact as Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year winners. That was the first time that happened in the NFL since 1967.
Ramczyk and Williams also had strong starts to their careers. Williams doesn’t have the accolades but became a true eraser in the back end of the secondary. Meanwhile, Ramczyk followed a strong rookie season with three consecutive first or second team All-Pro designations.
After the stars, Hendrickson was the late bloomer. He notched 13.5 sacks in his final year with New Orleans before heading to Cincinnati where he maintained that level of play for the last three years. Even their sixth-round pick Al-Quadin Muhammad, who didn’t last long in New Orleans, went on to play 84 games in the NFL for other teams. There’s been great classes since the Saints 2017 draft, but it’ll be difficult to topple the amount of key contributors the Saints brought in that year.