With the Saints drafting 6th after swapping their #4 position with Indianapolis, General Manager Jim Fink explained his draft plan. "Early, we'll go for the best football player. Later, we'll go to needs." He also said he sought a healthy running back although he knew the best backs, like Auburn's Bo Jackson and Keith Byers of Ohio State, would be gone by the time the Saints made their first pick.

The Saints' first-round #4 pick was OT Jim Dombrowski from Virginia. He earned con­sensus All-American honors and would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. He played 11 years for the Saints.

Their second-round pick also paid off—RB Dalton Hilliard. He was one of three LSU running backs who gained over 4,000y in their career. He played eight years in black and gold (1986-93) and, like Dombrowski, entered the Saints Hall of Fame.

Another running back, Rueben Mayes, was the Saints next choice with a pick from Tampa Bay. He was a consensus All-American at Washington State and established an NCAA record for most rushing yards in a game (357). He also set school records for single-season and career-rushing yards.

Mayes earned the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for 1986. Injuries hampered his NFL productivity. After five years with the Saints, he was traded to the Seahawks.

Just three picks later, Finks chose Pat Swilling. He played linebacker for Georgia Tech where he set the NCAA record for sacks in a game (seven). He also set the Tech record for sacks in a season (15) and made first-team All-America in 1985. He left Tech as the Yellow Jackets' all-time sack leader.

Swilling joined Ricky Jackson, Vaughan Johnson, and Sam Mills to form arguably the best set of linebackers in NFL history. The quartet became known as the "Dome Patrol." All four played in the Pro Bowl, and the Saints led the league in quarterback sacks.

After going 7-9 in 1986 (a two-game improvement from 1984), the Saints jumped to 12-3 in 1987 and made the playoffs for the first time.

During the next six years, the Saints never had a losing season and made the playoffs three times (losing in the first round every time).