The New Orleans Saints didn't have many picks in the 2009 draft but they made the most of the ones they had. First-round pick Malcolm Jenkins made an immediate impact on the team at cornerback and on special teams as a rookie before settling in as the team's starting free safety. The Saints traded their next pick for tight end Jeremy Shockey who would become a key member of the team's Super Bowl-winning squad that season.
The most unheralded pick of the Saints' draft, the fifth-round selection of punter Thomas Morstead, may go down as one of the team's best late-round picks of all time. Morstead is still with the team and has done a fantastic job. In 2018, Morstead punted 50 times in the regular season and playoffs, fewest in the NFL and fewest in his career. He had zero punts blocked for the seventh season in a row, and led the NFL in net yard average, Pro Football Focus grade, and average hang time. Morstead, in his 10th season with the Saints, was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Year by Pro Football Focus, an analytics driven website.
Held April 25-26, 2009
- Malcolm Jenkins, cb (14) Ohio State
- (#45) Traded to N.Y. Giants along with fifth-round pick (#152) in exchange for TE Jeremy Shockey
- (#76) Traded to N.Y. Jets along with 2008 fourth-round pick in exchange for lb Jonathan Vilma and 2009 fourth-round pick (#118)
- a. Chip Vaughn, s (116) Wake Forest
b. Stanley Arnoux, lb (118) Wake Forest (Choice from N.Y. Jets) - a. (#151) Traded to N.Y. Giants
b. Thomas Morstead, p (164) Southern Methodist, choice from Philadelphia - (#184) Traded to Green Bay in exchange for 2008 seventh-round pick
- (#222) Traded to Philadelphia along with fifth-round pick in 2010 draft in exchange for fifth-round pick (#164)
