'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#3 Willie Roaf, OT (1993-2001)
In 2012, Willie 'Nasty' Roaf's bust was cast and placed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, cementing the former Saint as one of the best offensive linemen in NFL history.
The New Orleans Saints selected Roaf with their no. 8 pick at the 1993 NFL Draft. It was a move that would pay dividends:
Roaf was an elite-level blocker who gave the New Orleans Saints genuine consistency on the left side of the line for nine years. The Saints might not have been great during the mid-90s, but like Manning, Roaf usually was.
The Louisiana Tech product went on to make the Pro Bowl 11x and also made the NFL's 1990-2000 All-Decade team.
#2 Rickey Jackson, LB (1981–1993)
Before the arrival of Sean Payton, in the eyes of most fans, Rickey Jackson was the premiere talent to ever suit up at the Super Dome. He was idolized in the Bayou.
The University of Pittsburgh product still holds New Orleans' records for sacks (115), forced fumbles (38) and fumbles recovered in defense (27); (Brees has 28 in offense). Jackson was named to the Pro Bowl six times and has since been inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, the first Saints player to ever do so.
Jackson played the game with real energy and was a big hitter in defense. Together with other fearsome linebackers, Sam Mills and Vaughan Johnson, he formed the backbone of the unit destined to become the Dome Patrol, Jim Mora's famed linebacker corps of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Under the tutorage of defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell, Dome Patrol was to form the key component in one of the most formidable 3-4 defenses in NFL history, and Jackson used to thrive in it.
#1 Drew Brees, QB (2006-2020)
No surprises here. The now former-New Orleans Saints franchise quarterback, Drew Brees, has to be the Saints' number one best player of all time.
I say that based on his 20-year NFL career, one Super Bowl win, 80,358-yard passing (1st all time), 571 TD passes (second all time) and a highlight reel of incredible passes that aspiring QBs will analyze for years.
Drew Brees may have retired as a bone-certified first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and a New Orleans' legend of all time, but number nine has also always been much more than just a great football player.
In the wake of the havoc Hurricane Katrina wreaked across New Orleans, Brees' extensive efforts to help rebuild homes and communities saw him selected as a co-recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Brees would share the award with LaDanian Tomlinson, a prestigious recognition of both players' voluntary and charity work.
A fine quarterback and an outstanding man, Drew Brees is arguably the greatest Saints player of all time.
