NEW ORLEANS -- It became the greatest draft class in New Orleans Saints history, a collection of Super Bowl champions, Pro Bowlers and record-setting superstars.
That’s not how it looked 10 years ago.
Not during that first rookie minicamp in 2006, when guard Jahri Evans was seizing up on the training table from full-body cramping and teammates such as tackle Zach Strief were laughing through their own pain.
"I don’t think Jah had ever gotten an IV because of cramps. And he finishes one bag and he says, 'I’m good,'" Strief said, recalling the aftermath from a grueling practice in the punishing New Orleans humidity.