PFF argues the Saints got it wrong with one of the greatest draft classes of all time

Now here's a fun thought exercise. Pro Football Focus analysts Max Chadwick, Dalton Wasserman, and Trevor Sikkema spun the clock back 20 years and ran a do-over of the 2006 NFL draft, and they argue the New Orleans Saints got it wrong in one of the greatest draft classes of all time.

At least with the benefit of hindsight. Instead of drafting Heisman Trophy winner and superstar USC Trojans running back Reggie Bush second overall, they went with one of Bush's teammates. Bush himself wasn't taken in the first round at all, but several other Saints draft picks vaulted to the top of the charts.

Jahri Evans

Here's one good example. In reality, Jahri Evans was picked by the Saints in the fourth round, at No. 108 (an experience the Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist uses to encourage other players picked on the draft's final day). But in their 2006 draft redo, PFF has New Orleans taking him second overall:

Had the Saints known that Jahri Evans would become one of the best guards in the NFL for a decade, they likely would’ve selected him long before the fourth round.

Evans’ 93.4 PFF overall grade across his first four seasons ranked third among all guards. He went on to provide the Saints with stability on the interior through 2016, before playing one season in Green Bay and retiring after the 2017 season.

Now, there isn't a bigger Jahri Evans respecter than me. His success in the NFL is a testament to the value of hard work and getting the right players in the right positions to succeed. But drafting a guard at second overall is a little rich for my blood, even if he's a future Hall of Famer. Drafting Bush when they did, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and with a fresh-faced coach and nicked-up quarterback coming to town, did a lot to energize a Saints fanbase that needed a win. Bush got fans to renew their season tickets and get to their seats early on Sundays. What Sean Payton and Drew Brees did to opposing teams kept them there.

Marques Colston

So what about the rest of this look back at the 2006 draft? Two more Saints picks ended up going off the board in Round 1, starting with Marques Colston being picked by the Green Bay Packers at fifth overall. PFF's explanation:

The Packers were searching for a receiving complement to Donald Driver on the outside. Seventh-round pick Marques Colston finished second in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2006. That was the first of his six 1,000-yard seasons.

Green Bay would have been thrilled if Colston gave Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers the same production he provided Drew Brees.

Colston might be the best player in NFL history to never reach the Pro Bowl. He found immediate success in New Orleans, catching 70 passes for 1,038 yards as a rookie and scoring 8 touchdowns, but it's unclear if he'd be as big a hit in Mike McCarthy's Green Bay offense. He primarily worked from the slot early on, lining up to close to the formation that some fantasy football platforms actually listed him as a tight end in 2006. If the Packers envisioned him as an outside threat opposite Driver (who, ironically, robbed Colston of his best shot at a Pro Bowl nod in 2007), he may have faced tougher sledding.

Roman Harper

But Evans and Colston weren't the only Saints draft picks to end up in this first round. Second-round safety Roman Harper got a boost to join the Carolina Panthers at No. 27 overall:

The Panthers made a solid original selection in running back DeAngelo Williams, who played 11 years in the league as a key part of their backfield. This could’ve been Williams again, but for the fun of switching it up, Harper joins Carolina even sooner in his career timeline.

The Panthers’ two starting safeties in 2006, Mike Minter and Shaun Williams, were both no longer the starters a year later. Harper made two Pro Bowls in his career and earned a 72.4 PFF overall grade in his first five seasons in New Orleans.

That would've been something. Harper was an effective starter for years with the Saints, playing a key role in the blitz-heavy defense that sent them to Super Bowl XLIV. Seeing him spend his career with a division rival would have been painful to say the least. If there's an upside here, it's that DeAngelo Williams wouldn't have landed in Carolina and gone on to rush for more yards against the Saints (1,176) than any other player in franchise history.

It's an interesting scenario. It's a couple of interesting scenarios. But we'll brush off the what-ifs and be happy with how it turned out. The Saints made hay in the 2006 draft and picked six players who went on to play 100-plus games in the pros, with several of those picks winning a Super Bowl championship for New Orleans in 2009. It's the type of draft that only comes around once in a generation. We didn't see it again for the Saints until 2017, but maybe the 2025 class can follow in their footsteps.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Pro Football Focus has 3 Saints, but not Reggie Bush, in 2006 redraft