Who was the Saints’ biggest draft bust, and why?

Yes, the Saints really drafted a punter in the first round.

He was a three-time first-team All-American, a record-setter, and able to play both kicker and punter. He is the only three-time All-American punter in NCAA history and was the 11th overall pick in the 1979 draft. He is Russell Erxleben, a K/P from the University of Texas and the player I consider the biggest bust in New Orleans Saints history.

In his three years with the Longhorns – he redshirted his first year – Erxleben amassed 7,440 punting yards and made 60% of all his attempted field goals. In 1977, during a matchup against Rice University, Erxleben set the record for the longest field goal in NCAA history with a 67-yard kick (with tee). That record has only ever been tied once and will probably never be broken, as a rule change after the 1977 season prohibited teams from using a tee for field goal attempts. He broke another record when he was selected 11th overall by the Saints, which made him to this day, the highest a punter has been taken in the NFL draft.

So, how did his career pan out?

Not how special teams coach Whitey Campbell and the Saints wanted, that’s for sure. Erxleben would play mainly as a punter, which was a huge blow as his potential to do both was what incited the team to draft him that high in the first place. Even more of a blow, his time with the Saints is forever shadowed by a play he made in his first-ever game.

On September 2, 1979, the week one game against the Atlanta Falcons went to overtime. The Falcons would win the toss and elect to receive the ball; however, their drive would end just two plays in, when a deep pass by quarterback Steve Bartkowski was intercepted by Saints safety Tom Myers. New Orleans’ drive wouldn’t do much better, going three-and-out. Long snapper John Watson sent the ball over Russell Erxleben’s head on the ensuing punt, and in the subsequent panic, Erxleben threw the ball right directly to Falcons’ special teamer James Mayberry, who then ran it into the endzone.

He spent six years in the league, five of them in New Orleans. In his career, Erxleben played in 59 games and had 11,381 punting yards.