New Orleans Saints First Round Draft Choices: Shawn Knight (1987)

The first round of the 2016 NFL Draft will be held on Thursday, April 28, in Chicago, Illinois.

Between now and then, we’ll be looking back at all of the drafts of the New Orleans Saints, from 1967-2015.

Yesterday, we looked back at 1986.

Today: 1987

The 1987 draft was the 21st draft in the history of the Saints.

The pick: Shawn Knight, a defensive lineman from BYU.

Knight was selected by the Saints with the 11th-overall pick, in the first round, of the 1987 NFL Draft.

A native of Provo, Utah, Knight ranks as one of the worst first round picks by the Saints, ever.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Knight played in 10 games as a rookie in 1987, all as a reserve, before being traded to the Denver Broncos for another 1987 first round disappointment, defensive lineman Ted Gregory.

Knight played just two more seasons in the NFL, including one with the Broncos, and one with the Arizona Cardinals, before retiring following the 1989 season.

The Saints did make some good picks in the draft in 1987, taking Washington receiver Lonzell Hill in the second round, Boston College offensive linemen Steve Trapilo in the fourth round, Alcorn St. defensive back Milton Mack in the fifth round, Florida A&M defensive back Gene Atkins in the seventh round, and Stanford defensive back Toi Cook in the eighth round.

Atkins and Cook were the prizes of the draft for the Saints, both 5-year starters, who played in at least 140 games for the franchise.