Remembering the Saints Blowing All of Their Draft Picks in Disastrous Trade for Ricky Williams

Once upon a time, running backs were highly valued amongst NFL general managers. So much so, in fact, that the New Orleans Saints once made one of the worst trades in league history to land a coveted Texas Longhorns star: Ricky Williams.

Ahead of the 1999 NFL Draft, general manager Mike Ditka unloaded his entire draft -- and two more picks in 2000, including a first-rounder -- to the Washington Redskins for the rights to select Williams with the No. 5 overall pick. When all was said and done, the Saints dealt eight picks to Washington.

What made this haul so bizarre was the fact that New Orleans didn't really move up that far. The team was originally slated with the No. 12 overall pick. That's right. Ditka decided to cough up an unprecedented amount of draft capital to move up seven spots and draft a running back.

Of course, this blockbuster worked out terribly for the Saints. Williams spent just three seasons with the franchise before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins, with whom he enjoyed a nice, albeit an antic-filled, tenure.

In those three years, Williams totaled a respectable 3,129 rushing yards. However, New Orleans finished 20-28 during that span, which included a miserable 3-13 campaign in 1999.

With the picks, the Redskins scored two big hits: Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey and three-time Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington.

This trade was a disaster from all angles for the Saints, and there's no doubting that fans in the Big Easy have April 17 circled on their calendars for all of the wrong reasons.