New Orleans Saints: 5 worst NFL Draft picks of all-time

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4 Dec 1988: Defensive lineman Shawn Knight of the Denver Broncos works against the Los Angeles Raiders during a game at the Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The Raiders won the game, 21-20. Mandatory Credit: Mike Powell /Allsport /

. Defensive Tackle. BYU Cougars. Shawn Knight. 3. player. 15

It’s interesting how some teams failed time and time again to address the same position in the NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns can’t find a quarterback. The Jacksonville Jaguars have drafted three wideouts with substance abuse issues in the first round. For whatever reason, the Saints tend to draft defensive tackles that end up busting.

It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last, but the Saints made another first-round draft mistake on an interior defensive lineman in drafting the BYU Cougars’ Shawn Knight with the No. 11 selection in the 1987 NFL Draft.

Knight would only play in three NFL seasons, the first with the Saints in 1987. He was then traded to the Denver Broncos in 1988 for defensive tackle Ted Gregory, who would also only play one season with the Saints in 1988. Knight would play the 1989 NFL season for the then Phoenix Cardinals before his NFL career came to a close.

Before hanging up the spikes for good after spending a year with the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football (WLAF), Knight would only appear in 31 games in three NFL seasons.

While he seemed to have his health as a professional, it’s still strange that an NFL team would use a first-round pick on a player that would only play 10 games with the franchise before being traded, which was the case with Knight’s forgettable NFL career.

Next: 2. DT Johnathan Sullivan, 2003, No. 6 overall

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