New Orleans Saints First Round Draft Choices: Deuce McAllister (2001)

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 2000.

Today: 2001

The 2001 draft was the 35th draft in the history of the Saints.

The Saints made one of their best first round selections ever in 2001.

The pick: Deuce McAllister, a running back from Ole Miss, who played with the Saints for 9 seasons, from 2001-2009.

After finishing his college career at Ole Miss, where he set school records for carries (616), yards (3,060), rushing TDs (36), total touchdowns (41) points (246) and 100-yard games (13), McAllister was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft.

A native of Ludlow, Mississippi, McAllister was the back-up to starter Ricky Williams in his rookie year, gaining 91 yards in only 16 attempts, before taking over as the starter in 2002, rushing for 1,388 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns.

Showing 2002 was no fluke, McAllister gained a career-high 1,641 yards, which ranks as the second-best single-season yardage total in franchise history, while scoring 8 touchdowns.

McAllister had two more 1,000-plus rushing yard seasons over the next three seasons, before retiring at the end of the 2008 season.

A two-time All-Pro, McAllister ended his nine year career with 6,096 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns, which both rank first in franchise history.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound McAllister was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

In the third round in 2001 the Saints took two players in the third round who at least made minor contributions, selecting North Carolina linebacker Sedrick Hodge and Alabama defensive lineman Kenny Smith.