Best New Orleans Saints undrafted free agent signings since 2006
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.
2006: P Steve Weatherford, Illinois
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2007: RB Pierre Thomas, Illinois
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2008: LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Boston College
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2008: K Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma
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2009: LB Jonathan Casillas, Wisconsin
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2010: RB Chris Ivory, Washington State/Tiffin
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2011: S Isa Abdul-Quddus, Fordham
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2013: TE Josh Hill, Idaho State
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2012: WR Joe Morgan, Illinois
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2013: RB Khiry Robinson, Blinn College/West Texas A&M
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2013: OL Tim Lelito, Grand Valley State
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2014: DE Kasim Edebali, Boston College
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2014: CB Brian Dixon, Northwest Missouri State
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2015: WR Brandon Coleman, Rutgers
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2015: WR Willie Snead IV, Ball State
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2016: WR Tommylee Lewis, Northern Illinois
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2016: CB Ken Crawley, Colorado
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2016: K Wil Lutz, Georgia State
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2017: DB Justin Hardee, Illinois
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2018: DT Taylor Stallworth, South Carolina
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2018: OL Cameron Tom, Southern Mississippi
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2018: WR Keith Kirkwood, Temple
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2019: WR Deonte Harty, Assumption College
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2019: DE Carl Granderson, Wyoming
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2019: DT Shy Tuttle, Tennessee
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2020: DT Malcolm Roach, Texas
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2020: WR Marquez Callaway, Tennessee
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2021: P Blake Gillikin, Penn State
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2022: OL Lewis Kidd, Montana State
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2022: WR Rashid Shaheed, Weber State
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