“You realize I never would have traded you,” Casserly said. Breaking down one of the riskiest draft moves by the New Orleans Saints over the past 25 years -- when they traded their entire 1999 draft and their first- and third-round picks in 2000 for running back Ricky Williams: Did the risk pay off? He was told he’d be doing the press conference from a podium. 49ers receive: 1985 first-rounder (No. The Saints flew him to New Orleans for a post-draft press conference. Coach Mike Ditka was all-in on Williams. They traded all six 1999 draft choices and their first-round and third-round picks in 2000—eight draft choices in all—to Washington to move up seven spots in the first round of the ’99 draft to pick Texas running back Ricky Williams. “We had a deal, but they upped the ante on me when I called back,” he said. Total draft pick point value: 4,944; The Saints literally traded their entire allotment of draft picks in 1999 and their first- and third-round picks in 2000 for the right to select Heisman Trophy-winning running back Ricky Williams. Williams himself wasn’t a bust. Williams dressed in a wedding gown and Ditka in a wedding tux, and they posed as bride and groom for an August 1999 cover of ESPN The Magazine. He finished with 10,009 rushing yards in 11 seasons, 31st on the all-time rushing list. Postscript V: Bailey lasted only five years in Washington before a contract dispute prompted the team to trade him to Denver for Clinton Portis. So after the deal with the Saints went through, Casserly called the Bears back, ready to move up five slots in exchange for third, fourth and fifth-round picks. We’re staying. 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. Big problems. Williams wound up running for more than 10,000 yards in a unique 12-year career that included a surprising yearlong retirement in the middle of his prime and multiple suspensions for violating the NFL's drug policy. “Twenty years ago—that’s crazy,” the Washington coach at the time, Norv Turner, said Friday. Or maybe six picks instead of eight? They sent two first-round draft picks, one in 2002 and one in 2003 and a 4th round pick in 2002 to the Saints for Williams and a 4th. Saints' Ricky Williams trade still one of most infamous in draft history Then-Saints coach Mike Ditka sported a unique look the day after the team drafted Ricky Williams in 1999. Saints, Drew Brees heating up despite missing out on NFC's top seed, Saints hope to stay in hunt for NFC's No. 1999: SAINTS TRADE UP FOR RICKY WILLIAMS The Saints traded everything to get Ricky Williams. QB JaMarcus Russell, 1st overall 2007, Raiders: It turned out to be a miserable year for passers, the … McNown was a disaster, and was out of football after two seasons. Two decades ago Wednesday, the New Orleans Saints made one of the craziest trades in NFL history. I texted Ditka on Friday and would have loved to speak with him about the trade and the weird year, but he didn’t get back to me. Of course not. Postscript IV: Casserly’s reward for getting those eight picks and maneuvering to pick up Bailey, and following that with Washington winning the NFC East? Then again, the Saints' No. Ricky Williams signed a 2 year, $2,600,000 contract with the Baltimore Ravens, including a $100,000 signing bonus, $100,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,300,000. It doesn’t take an NFL Draft expert to know that this trade … Don't underestimate Panthers OC Joe Brady's role in loss to Packers, 'I have to be better with the football': Falcons' Matt Ryan rues late-game mistakes, Covered Saints for eight years at New Orleans Times-Picayune, Previously covered LSU football, San Francisco 49ers, Iowa native and University of Iowa graduate. Read more from Football Morning in America here. Akili Smith. There was a fan fest with maybe 5,000 fans there on the property, fans going crazy because they got the best player in college football, and they chanted for Williams. Two decades ago Wednesday, the New Orleans Saints made one of the craziest trades in NFL history. Imagine if Twitter was around in 1999 when the Saints traded an entire year’s draft (and a 1 and a 3) to draft RB Ricky Williams at No. But Ditka wound up getting fired at the end of the year after Williams battled injuries and the Saints finished 3-13. But the new regime in New Orleans wants to build through the draft. He ran something like a 4.75-second 40-yard dash. And even if they were determined to move up, they would have had more success with the guys picked fourth, sixth and seventh in that 1999 draft: RB Edgerrin James, WR Torry Holt and CB Champ Bailey. The Ricky Williams trade was a trade between the New Orleans Saints and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL), which occurred prior to the 1999 NFL draft. 2) Saints trade eight draft picks to Redskins for opportunity to draft Ricky Williams: After two miserable seasons with identical 6-10 records, Mike Ditka was grasping at straws and flailing about like a drunk who fell off The Riverwalk and into the Mississippi River. That season, Williams earned … The RGIII Trade Doubles in Size (2012) With Andrew Luck guaranteed to go to the Colts with the first … Williams did the press conference, standing to the side of the podium, not behind it. Except New Orleans didn’t have a second-round pick that year. While the NFL draft may seem like a bunch of men standing around, every football fan knows that it can make or break your franchise. “I’m not doing that,” he said. “That trade was a sugar rush for the franchise. That player: Champ Bailey. Williams lasted three seasons with the Saints before being traded to Miami in 2002. Read up on Ricky Williams's biography, career, awards and more on ESPN. The Saints were very motivated to get Ricky Williams in the 1999 draft. Ricky walked in, sat down and was essentially non-communicative. Imagine if Twitter was around in 1999 when the Saints traded an entire year's draft (and a 1 and a 3) to draft RB Ricky Williams at No. You gotta do that.’ “ And GM Charley Casserly, negotiating with Saints GM Billy Kuharich, agreed to it eagerly. He got fired at the end of the year after new owner Dan Snyder took over. For example, former Saints GM Mike Ditka could have calculated the estimated cost of trading for the rights to Ricky Williams back in 1999. "We never like to trade good football players, but this was a deal that we felt like we couldn't pass up," general manager Randy Mueller said. He’d won before, and he gave us faith we’d win with him.”. Postscript I: The Bengals, picking third, had a chance to make the same deal Washington made. Nearly 20 years later, the stunning trade still stands as one of the most ridiculed in NFL history. Postscript II: Casserly thought he had a deal with Chicago, picking seventh, to move from 12 to seven if the player Washington wanted was available. Other than helping New Orleans win a division title in 2000, Williams’ tenure in New Orleans was more circus than football. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Everyone makes fun of the deal, because we gave up the farm to get Ricky, but we really trusted Mike. I went into New Orleans to interview him, and though pleasant enough, he insisted on doing the interview with his helmet on, with the dark shield covering his face. On the plane, he was given a Saints cap to wear. Ditka was smitten with Williams after his 2,124-yard, 27-TD senior year at Texas, and he proclaimed at the league meetings a month before the draft that he’d trade his entire draft for Williams. Postscript VI: Williams had a good NFL career, in between missing two years for a “retirement” and a marijuana suspension. Who are the Falcons talking to fill their head-coaching, GM openings? However, it is worth noting that Williams had more success than people might realize during his three years in New Orleans. We’re picking the guy we want badly. Postscript III: I didn’t ask Casserly if he got any satisfaction from the quarterback Chicago took to be its long-term QB solution at 12—Cade McNown, who won three games in two years for the Bears. 12 to No. He orchestrated the deal, then he showed up wearing Williams' signature dreadlocks at a fan fest the next day and even posed as the groom next to Williams, who wore a wedding dress, on a famous ESPN The Magazine cover that summer. 1 playoff seed by beating Panthers, Falcons' defensive effort against Chiefs gives hope for the future, Washington could wrap up NFC East, but Panthers looking to play spoiler, Falcons' Matt Ryan a bright spot in loss to Tom Brady, Buccaneers. Contract Terms: 2 yr(s) / $2,600,000 12 pick might have just been doomed from the start. At the time, so much about it was revolutionary. Washington got Bailey at seven. As was the deal. The Bears wanted Washington’s third-rounder in 2000, or there’d be no deal. During the NFL owners meetings in the spring of 1999, New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka let everyone know: At the NFL draft they would trade all eight picks for running back Rick Williams. The noted draft-value trade chart, invented by the Cowboys a few years earlier, had the Saints trading away 4,441 points of draft value in exchange for 1,700 points—the value of the fifth overall pick. Williams rushed for over 1,200 yards in 2001 before he was traded to Miami prior to the start of the 2002 season. The trade moved New Orleans up to number five from number 12 in the first round so they could select Heisman-winning Texas running back Ricky Williams. The Saints gave up an entire draft to get Ricky Williams, and Williams didn't save the franchise. But Williams was an excellent player; he finished with … 5 and draft the Heisman Trophy winner from Texas. That pick wound up getting traded to the Chicago Bears, who didn't fare much better with quarterback Cade McNown. Could Chiefs-Saints serve as a Super Bowl LV preview? “Put us in line,” Casserly told Kuharich. Saints' Ricky Williams trade still one of most infamous in draft history, Carolina Panthers NFL draft picks 2021: Analysis for every selection, Former New York Giants safety could play key role for Bucs in Super Bowl 2021, Ex-Jets coach Todd Bowles goes from green to greener pastures with Bucs, Tom Brady's success with Buccaneers sparks mixed reaction in New England, Matchup for the ages: Saints, Drew Brees will host Buccaneers, Tom Brady. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! They traded all six 1999 draft choices and their first-round and third-round picks in 2000—eight draft choices in all—to Washington to move up seven spots in the first round of the ’99 draft to pick Texas running back Ricky Williams. 1985 - 49ers for Rice. When the dreadlocked Williams got to the Saints offices, Ditka greeted him wearing a wig with dreadlocks, and a flowered shirt and shorts. Then Williams gained 1,756 yards from scrimmage in 2001. This was not what he thought the NFL would be. Bailey played 10 of his 15 seasons in a 15-year career for Denver. After being elected to the Hall last February, Bailey got a call from Casserly. It was Mueller who drafted Deuce McAllister and traded Ricky Williams to the Dolphins for what became two 1st round picks (one was originally a conditional pick) and a 3rd rounder. (Man, why not ask for Ditka’s first-born too?) 2 overall selection in 1998, San Diego dealt two first-round … Maybe just the two first-round picks? “I’m not wearing that,” Williams said. He ran for 1,000 yards in just 10 games in 2000; that season, the Saints picked up the first playoff victory in franchise history. Ricky Williams owns the top two spots, including his franchise-record 1,853 yards in 2002 in his first season after arriving in a trade with the New Orleans Saints. They ended up trading away one of the biggest hauls for a draft pick ever, a haul … Ricky-mania was in full swing. Heaven knows why Williams did that, but the season started bad and got worse. “If you really want the player, you’ve got to take a step back and take the emotion out of it,” he said. The look on his face was, ‘What the f— is this?’ “. From the moment the deal happened, there were problems. The Saints had two first-round picks in 2003 thanks to their trade with the Miami Dolphins for Ricky Williams. Interesting who is 32nd: Clinton Portis. Arguably, a team could/should use the table when evaluating trades involving future draft picks. 1999: Saints trade 8 picks for Ricky Williams New Orleans sent eight draft picks to Washington in order to move up to the fifth overall pick and take the Texas running back. The Dolphins paid a price for Williams. He was then traded to the Miami Dolphins for two first-round draft picks, which helped New Orleans salvage something from that 1999 mess. He infamously conducted some of his media interviews behind a helmet and visor. On top of that, Ricky had done very poorly in his pre-draft workout. That is actually the haul the Redskins received in return. Eight picks to move from three to 12 with New Orleans. EVALUATING THE TRADE FOR RICKY WILLIAMS. The Saints did it. “Oh my God,” his assistant head coach, Rick Venturi, said the other day. They don’t make trades like they used to. He may not have delivered numbers worthy of trading an entire draft for, but it’s tough to say any one player would. Someone with Williams that day said, “Ricky looked around, and he was in shock. In 1999 Mike Ditka, then the Saints' coach, traded all eight of their draft picks to acquire Williams. Williams was intensely shy. Williams’ shyness bordered on the weird. 16: WR Jerry Rice), 1985 third-rounder … Saints' Ricky Williams trade still one of most infamous in draft history Then-Saints coach Mike Ditka sported a unique look the day after the team drafted Ricky Williams in … The Saints went 3-13, and Ditka was fired. The posts will be random as far as the year the trade happened, today we focus on the 1999 draft when Charley Casserly took advantage of Mike Ditka's hard-on for Ricky Williams. NFL playoffs: Can Washington slow down Tom Brady, upset Buccaneers? The Saints sent eight picks to the Washington Redskins, including two first-rounders, just to move up seven spots from No. Williams also revealed that he battled a social anxiety disorder while in New Orleans. “A generational trade,” Casserly called it. “When the coaches were told about it that day,” Turner said, “we looked at each other and said, ‘This isn’t real. And his quirky personality reportedly alienated him from some teammates. 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