Revisiting Mike Ditka and the Saints' Absurd Ricky Williams Trade in the 1999 NFL Draft
By Brady Williams
Under head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis, the New Orleans Saints have had a number of successful drafts. Their efforts earned the Saints a Super Bowl victory in 2010 and helped support the career of one of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks, Drew Brees. However, long before the duo brought success to NOLA, Mike Ditka was large and in charge, and the brash NFL icon performed one of the most baffling draft maneuvers of all time to get running back Ricky Williams.
After the Saints suffered five consecutive losing seasons, Ditka became transfixed on the University of Texas Heisman winner in the 1999 draft. He was determined to get the All-American at all costs, and Ditka does what Ditka does. In order to move up to the No. 5 overall pick, he had to trade away a few selections of his own... and by a few, we mean every single one of the Saints' picks that year. He didn't stop there, either. The team also sacrificed two more picks in the 2000 draft, including a first-rounder. In total, eight picks were just given away for the right to draft Ricky.
The story behind the @Redskins trade with the @Saints ”The Ricky Williams Trade” where the Saints traded 8 picks and we in turn used some of them to trade back up for future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey @NFLDraft @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/QR5upPFQDO
— Charley Casserly (@CharleyCasserly) April 17, 2018
The move was insanely stupid by any measure -- just think about how running backs are valued around the league now -- but perhaps it could have been somewhat justified if Williams excelled and the Saints won a Super Bowl. That didn't happen, though. Williams ran for a decent 887 yards his first season, but the Saints finished 3-13.
Then, Ditka was fired.
(And for good measure, Edgerrin James, who was drafted right before Ricky at No. 4 overall, went to the Hall of Fame.)
The magazine cover was crazy, but Ricky Williams says Mike Ditka trading an entire draft for him was even crazier.
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 23, 2019
For more stories from the 1999 NFL draft ➡️ https://t.co/vwmvDUELVY pic.twitter.com/qeq0Kh7kcO
After all of that, Ricky Williams was out of New Orleans after just three years. Ditka and Co. canned an entire draft for one running back. Williams played reasonably well for the Saints, running for 1,000 yards twice, but his tenure with the Saints will ultimately not be remembered for his playing ability nearly as much as what was sacrificed to attain him.
As for Ditka, while the coach remains an NFL legend, his desperate act to swoop in for Ricky set back an already humble franchise massively.