The original poster qualified the question as
"When's the last time we went into the draft with corner not being a big need?"
Thomas was 2 years off of one of the best seasons ever put in by a Saints CB and 1 year off a contract extension. We had just acquired McKenzie, then widely regarded as the best CB in the NFC. And Jason Craft had come to us from Jacksonville with the reputation as a quality nickel.
I think we all hoped to improve the position, but going into 2005 most of us felt that it was as solid as it had ever been. Our top needs that year, by a fairly large margin, were LT, LB, and S. We drafted Jammal Brown, Josh Bullocks, and Alfred Fincher. Two of the 3 started for us as rookies demonstrating that need, and Fincher, if he had been any good, would have.
"When was the last time we went into the draft with corner not being a big need?"
In 2005