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 on punts and handling kickoffs.
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)
4a. Chip Vaughn, s (116) Wake Forest
4b. Stanley Arnoux, lb (118) Wake Forest
choice from N.Y. Jets
5a. (#151) Traded to N.Y. Giants
5b. Thomas Morstead, p (164) Southern Methodist choice from Philadelphia
6(#184) Traded to Green Bay in exchange for 2008 seventh-round pick
7.(#222) Traded to Philadelphia along with fifth-round pick in 2010 draft in exchange for fifth-round pick (#164)