The 2013 season was all about redemption for the New Orleans Saints, head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis.  
After being freshly victimized by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s “Bountygate” smear campaign, the Saints finished 11-5 and secured their first road postseason victory in franchise history, a 26-24 triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card round.
Optimism was abound — the Saints were back and the franchise collectively had a chip on its shoulder. 
The 2014 offseason brought the loss of several players, namely starting center Brian de la Puente, starting free safety Malcolm Jenkins, starting strong safety Roman Harper, wide receiver Lance Moore and do-it-all running back Darren Sproles. Free safety Jairus Byrd, who was signed to a $56 million contract, was the only notable addition. The team also signed upstart defensive end Junior Galette for $41.5 million, a year after 2010’s undrafted gem posted a career high 12 sacks which ranked 6th in the league. 
Heading into the league’s annual collegiate draft armed with 6 total picks, many draft pundits declared cornerback, offensive tackle, and wide receiver among the Saints’ biggest needs. 
On the draft’s opening night, Saints brass traded their first and third round selections, 27th and 91st overall, to the Arizona Cardinals for the 20th overall selection to select WR Brandin Cooks. Cooks was coming off a stellar junior season at Oregon State which saw him win the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver. He would be paired with one of the best quarterbacks of all time, Drew Brees, and would be a welcome addition to a receiving corps that included an aging Marques Colston and a largely ineffective Robert Meachem.
The Saints closed out the draft by selecting project cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste out of Nebraska in the second round, inside linebacker Khairi Fortt out of California in the fourth, safety Vinnie Sunseri out of Alabama and outside linebacker Ronald Powell out of Florida in the fifth, and offensive tackle Tavon Rooks out of Kansas in the sixth.
Two years later, Cooks was the only player left on the team, an indictment of the Saints’ scouting department and the talent evaluation of Saints brass. Jean-Baptiste and Powell were waived after just one season with the team. Fortt was waived just one month into his rookie season and Rooks was waived in training camp and signed to the practice squad. Sunseri was waived before the 2015 season, re-signed, and then waived again in April 2016.
The big money contracts given to Byrd and Galette were fruitless. Byrd was perpetually injured all 3 seasons with the team and waived this offseason.  Galette was arrested on domestic violence charges in Jan. 2015, and in April, a video surfaced that showed Galette striking a woman with a belt. The Saints released him that July.
On March 11, the Saints cut ties with the 2014 offseason when they traded Brandin Cooks to the New England Patriots. In exchange for Cooks and a 2017 4th round pick, the Saints received the Patriots’ first rounder, the 32nd overall selection in the upcoming draft, as well as their 3rd round selection, 104th overall.  
It is no wonder the Saints have posted 3 consecutive 7-9 seasons following a resurgent 2013 campaign. Such disastrous offseasons have far-reaching effects.
With this year’s draft being held from April 27-29th, Saints brass will have every opportunity to provide the team with an influx of young talent. It’s playoffs or bust, and if Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis don’t right the ship this season, it’ll be time to cut ties with them as well.
Christopher Godail is a 27-year-old interdisciplinary studies junior from Kenner, Louisiana.