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 1980.

Today: 1981

The 1981 draft was the 15th draft in the history of the Saints.

The pick: George Rogers, a running back from South Carolina, who played four years for the Saints, from 1981-1984.

After concluding his college career at South Carolina, where he won the 1980 Heisman Trophy Award, Rogers was selected by the Saints with the first-overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft.

Rogers paid immediate dividends, leading the league in rushing with 1,674 yards, which set a new team record that still stands today, while being selected as the NFL Rookie of the Year.

A native of Duluth, Georgia, Rogers also scored 13 rushing touchdowns in 1981, as he went on to be named to the Pro Bowl.

After the strike-shortened 1982 season, one in which he rushed for 535 yards and three touchdowns, Rogers eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau once again in 1983, compiling 1,144 and five touchdowns.

Splitting time with Earl Campbell in 1984, his final year with the Saints, Rogers gained 914 yards and two touchdowns.

A two-time All-Pro, Rogers was traded to the Washington Redskins prior to the 1985 season, where he played for three years, rushing for 2,909 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Over his four years with the Saints, Rogers rushed for 4,267 yards, which ranks second in franchise history, and 23 touchdowns.

In 7 NFL seasons, Rogers racked up 7,176 yards and 54 touchdowns.

Rogers was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1992.

That 1981 draft, which was the first under new head coach Bum Phillips, is arguably the best in team history.

In that draft, the Saints chose running back George Rogers (first round-1st overall), safety Russell Gary (second round-29th overall), linebacker Rickey Jackson (second round-51st overall), defensive tackle Frank Warren (third round-57th overall), and tight end Hoby Brenner (third round 71st overall) in the top three rounds, who all went on to become starters for the team.

But teams are/were expected to get good players in the top three rounds.

It’s actually the players the Saints selected in rounds 5-12 that made that year’s draft so good.

In those rounds the Saints chose the likes of offensive lineman Louis Oubre (5th round), defensive tackle Jerry Boyarsky (5th round), offensive lineman Nat Hudson (6th round), cornerback Johnnie Poe (6th round), linebacker Glen Redd (6th round), running back Hokie Gajan (10th round), and defensive lineman Jim Wilks (12th round), all of whom produced for the team.

Wilks is a perfect example; drafted in the last round in 1981, Wilks went on to play 13 years for the team, and was a starter in 12 of those years.

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