The NFL's Top 50 Draft Classes of the Decade: No. 10 New Orleans Saints, 2006

Team Achievements: 38-26, 2009 Super Bowl Champions, 2 playoff berths.

The Saints' 2006 Selections: Reggie Bush, RB, USC (No. 2)
Roman Harper, S, Alabama (No. 43) *
Jahri Evans, G, Bloomsburg (No. 108) **
Rob Ninkovich, DE, Purdue (No. 135)
Mike Hass, WR, Oregon State (No. 171)
Josh Lay, CB, Pittsburgh (No. 174)
Zach Strief, OT, Northwestern (No. 210)
Marques Colston, WR, Hofstra (No. 252)
* Traded second-round pick to Cleveland for No. 43 pick and Jeff Faine.
** Traded fourth-round pick to Philadelphia for No. 108 pick and Hollis Thomas.

Class Accolades: Reggie Bush - 32 career touchdowns, 4 career punt return touchdowns, 1,940 career rushing yards and 1,934 receiving yards, 88 receptions in 2006.
Roman Harper - 102 tackles in 2009, 6.5 career sacks, 6 forced fumbles.
Jahri Evans - All-Pro and Pro Bowl in 2009, 64 consecutive starts.
Marques Colston - 285 career receptions, 4,074 receiving yards, 33 touchdowns. Top-10 in receiving touchdowns in 2006 (8), 2007 (11), and 2009 (9).
* Jeff Faine - 30 starts in two seasons with Saints.
** Hollis Thomas - 6.5 sacks in 28 starts with Saints.

Overall Draft Analysis: The Saints '06 class contributed significantly to the team's Super Bowl XLIV Championship, headlined by starters Bush, Harper, Evans, and Colston. Bush remains an electrifying big-play threat, although the franchise and fans have tempered expectations, considerably. The versatile Heisman Trophy winner has provided offensive guru Sean Payton significant flexibility to spread the field, create mismatches, and overwhelm defenses with explosive personnel groupings. Bush should continue to improve within the fabric of the offense, while also excelling as receiver, outside rusher, and game-changing punt returner. Evans has impressively started in 64 consecutive regular season games, while surprisingly emerging as one of the NFL's top performers at guard. Remarkably, the seventh-round steal, Colston, totaled 1,000+ yards and 8+ touchdowns for the third different season in 2009. Colston and Evans remain rare examples of elite performers available on Day Two of the NFL draft.

Talented tackler Roman Harper has steadily improved throughout his tenure in New Orleans, totaling 102 total tackles in sixteen starts in 2009. The team's impressive array of trades also allowed for the acquisition of regular starters, Jeff Faine and Hollis Thomas. However, the remaining members of the '06 class have provided minimal impact, with the Saints' four-year backup lineman, Strief, becoming the only player to stick with the team more than a single season. In the end, the Saints' 2006 class significantly aided the transformation of one of the NFL's most frustrated franchises into astonishing Super Bowl XLIV Champions. The team's talented nucleus should continue to contend for postseason glory for the foreseeable future.

The Saints' "Perfect Draft" in Retrospect
(Keeping trades, only same position players are eligible)
No. 2 - RB Maurice Jones-Drew, No. 43 - S Antoine Bethea, No. 108 - G Jahri Evans, No. 135 - DE Mark Anderson, No. 171 - WR Marques Colston, No. 174 - CB Cortland Finnegan, No. 210 - OT Donald Penn (Undrafted), No. 252 - WR Miles Austin (Undrafted).

References: All statistics and draft results as reflected on NFL.com and Pro-Football-Reference.com.