Great Players The Saints Could Have Drafted: Charles Mann

The 2016 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, April 28, in Chicago, Illinois.

Between now and then, we’ll be looking back at some of the past drafts by the Saints, and some of the better players they passed up on when it was their turn to pick.

Of course, every NFL team has had their “steals” and “busts” over the years, as the NFL Draft is such an inexact science, but it’s kind of fun, and at times, agonizing, to look back and see what players they could have, and maybe even should have drafted.

Today, we go back to the 1983 NFL Draft.

In the third round, with the 66th-overall pick, the Saints selected Clemson running back Cliff Austin.

Not a good pick by the Saints, as Austin played in only 11 career games for the franchise.

18 picks later, with the 84th-overall pick, and the last pick of the third round, the Washington Redskins took Nevada defensive end Charles Mann.

It was a really good pick by the Redskins, as Mann turned out to be a productive pass rusher for more than a decade.

A 4-time Pro Bowler, Mann was a starter from his second season in 1984 through the 1993 campaign.

In 12 seasons, including 12 with the Redskins and 2 with the San Francisco 49ers, Mann appeared in 177 games, while starting 145.

During that span, Mann accumulated 795 tackles, including 85 sacks.

Mann, one of the top pass rushers in the late 80's and early 90's, would have been a great addition to the defense.