New Orleans Saints First Round Draft Choices: Jim Dombrowski (1986)

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 1985.

Today: 1986

The 1986 draft was the 20th draft in the history of the Saints.

The pick: Jim Dombrowski, an offensive tackle from Virginia.

Dombrowski was selected by the Saints with the 6th-overall pick, in the first round, of the 1986 NFL Draft, the first draft by the team in the Jim Finks/Jim Mora era.

A native of Williamsville, New York, Dombrowski started three games at guard in his rookie year, getting a taste of life in the NFL.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Dombrowski became the team’s starting left tackle in 1987, starting 26 games at that position over a two-year period, before making the switch back to left guard, where he was the starter for the next seven years.

Dombrowski retired following the 1996 season.

In 11 NFL seasons, all with the Saints, Dombrowski appeared in 151 games, including 137 as a starter.

The Saints had an outstanding draft in 1986, one of the best in team history, going on to take LSU running back Dalton Hilliard in the second round, Washington St. running back Rueben Mayes in the third round, Georgia Tech linebacker Pat Swilling in the third round, and Holy Cross running back Gil Fenerty in the seventh round.

Hilliard, Mayes, and Swilling were all Pro Bowl selections during their respective careers for the Saints.