The Saints are adding the two first picks from their 2006 draft class to their Hall of Fame.
Jahri Evans, an offensive tackle who played for the Saints from 2006 to 2015, and Roman Harper, a safety who played for the Saints from 2006 to 2013, are both going in the Saints’ Hall of Fame this year.
“These two gentlemen are part of a draft class that completely changed the culture and began really the pillars of a Super Bowl run,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, via Nola.com.
The Saints also added two 2016 draft picks, Reggie Bush and Marques Colston, to their Hall of Fame last year, which shows just how important that draft class was to the Saints’ success. Evans said he could tell in training camp that they had brought in a special group of players that year.
“Just being around each other like you are that rookie year, we knew we had some ballers coming in here,” Evans said. “We knew we were a talented group and we just sorta all made an impact right away. People forget that we were a half away from the Super Bowl that rookie year.”
The 2006 season was the year the Saints made a dramatic turnaround after their lost season of 2005, when they were forced to vacate their homes because of Hurricane Katrina. Now the franchise is recognizing some of the players who made it happen.