New Orleans Saints First Round Draft Misses – Larry Burton
Do you remember Larry Burton?
Unfortunately, Burton was one of numerous draft mistakes by the New Orleans Saints in the early years.
The 1975 draft, one in which the Saints had two picks in the first round was the ninth draft in franchise history.
Unfortunately for the Saints, neither pick was a good one.
The first pick: Larry Burton, a receiver, out of Purdue, while their second pick, and the 12th pick overall was Kurt Schumacher, an offensive lineman out of Ohio St.
Here, we will concentrate on Burton.
Burton was taken in the first round, with the 7th overall pick of the 1975 NFL Draft.
A native of Northampton, Virginia, Burton was drafted with a lot of fanfare but turned out to be a big disappointment.
A world-class Olympic sprinter, who finished fourth for the United States team in the 200 meter final in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Burton compiled 38 catches for 702 yards and 4 touchdowns as a senior at Purdue.
A 6-foot-1, 192-pounder, Burton only accumulated a modest 35 receptions for 615 yards and 4 touchdowns in three seasons with the Saints.
After the 1977 season, Burton left the Saints for the San Diego Chargers, where he played as a reserve for two seasons, before retiring after the end of the 1979 season.
Let's hope the Saints fare better in the first round in 2020 than they did in 1975.