New Orleans Saints First Round Draft Choices: Sedrick Ellis (2008)

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 2007.

Today: 2008

The 2008 draft was the 42nd draft in the history of the Saints.

The selection turned out to be a decent one for the Saints, landing a player who was a 4-year starter, including the 2009 season, when the team won the Super Bowl.

The pick: Sedrick Ellis, a defensive lineman from USC.

A native of Los Angeles, California, Ellis, who was the 7th-overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, played five years for the Saints, from 2008-2012.

The Saints' original draft spot was 10th, but they traded up with the New England Patriots, with the teams swapping round picks, while the Saints gave up their third round selection, and the Patriots up their fifth round pick.

The 6-foot-1, 308-pound Ellis was an immediate starter at defensive tackle, playing in 13 games as a rookie in 2008, all as a starter, while compiling 20 tackles and 4 sacks.

2009, the year the Saints won their first and only Super Bowl, saw Ellis play in, and start 10 games, accumulating 26 tackles and 2 sacks.

In 2010, Ellis had the best year of his career, generating 30 tackles and 6 sacks in 16 games, all as a starter.

In 2011 and 2012, his final two years in New Orleans, Ellis remained a fulltime starter, but saw his production drop, collecting 24 tackles and 0.5 sacks in the two seasons, combined.

Ellis signed with the Chicago Bears prior to the 2013 season, but never played in a game, and later retired.

In 5 NFL seasons, all with the Saints, Ellis appeared in 70 games, all as a starter, accumulating 100 tackles and 12.5 sacks.

The Saints two outstanding picks later on in the 2008 NFL Draft, selecting Indiana cornerback Tracy Porter in the second round, and Nebraska offensive lineman Carl Nicks in the fifth round.