56 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 56
We are down to a 56-day wait before the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2025 regular season by hosting the Arizona Cardinals. Wearing No. 56 for the Saints is one of the best players in franchise history, linebacker Demario Davis. One of 19 players to wear 56 for New Orleans, Davis has worn it longer and arguably better than all others. Here's a look at all that wore the number in New Orleans history.
Saints' History of No. 56
James Ferguson was the first to put on 56 for the Saints, doing so for four games in 1968. A 17th round pick, Ferguson was also the first player drafted by New Orleans to wear 56 and along with center Lee Gross (32 games), one of only two offensive players to wear the number. Willie Hall, Gross, and Reggie Mathis were all Round 2 draft picks by New Orleans, but played a combined 96 games and seven seasons with the team. At 31st overall in 1972, Hall is the highest drafted player by New Orleans to wear No. 56.
Dennis "Dirt" Winston came to the Saints in 1981 as a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Winston played four seasons with New Orleans before ending his career back in Pittsburgh. With New Orleans, Winston had 2 sacks and 7 interceptions, returning two of those for touchdowns in 1984. Of the 19 players to wear No. 56 for the Saints, 16 were linebackers. That includes two who are among the best players in the history of the franchise.
The Saints used a third-round choice in the 1986 NFL draft on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets linebacker Pat Swilling. He'd have 4 sacks as a rookie reserve in 1986, but would be entrenched as a starter by 1987 and become the final piece in the iconic Dome Patrol foursome of linebackers. Swilling played in 107 regular season games for the Saints over seven years, second only to Demario Davis as the longest to wear No. 56. He had 76.5 sacks as a Saint, still fourth on the franchise's all-time career list.
Swilling had 16.5 sacks in 1989 and an NFL-best 17 sacks in 1991, still a single-season franchise record as he won the 1991 Defensive Player of the Year award. Additionally, Swilling had 3 interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, along with 24 forced fumbles with New Orleans. He earned four Pro Bowls and 1st Team All-Pro honors twice with two 2nd Team All-Pro accolades. Pat Swilling has been criminally overlooked for what is a rightful a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2000, joining Dome Patrol teammates Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, and Vaughan Johnson.
Ernest Dixon and Charlie Clemons had some success at linebacker wearing No. 56 for the Saints through the late 1990s and early 2000s. They combined to play 94 games in six seasons, recording 18.5 sacks and 3 interceptions. Clemons led the Saints in 2001 with 13.5 sacks. Orlando Ruff followed Clemons in No. 56 in 2003. Ruff played two years with the team, managing 2 interceptions and was among the team leaders in tackles both seasons.
Jo-Lonn Dunbar also flashed great potential when arriving to New Orleans as an undrafted rookie in 2008. Dunbar was a special teams star that also started 28 of his 56 games in New Orleans. A knee injury sidelined him for the team's Super Bowl XLIV championship run in 2009, but Dunbar was otherwise a solid all-around defender. He'd return to the Saints in 2015 to finish out his career, but wore No. 54 that year. Ronald Powell showed that same kind of potential, but a knee injury ended his career early. Michael Mauti played three seasons in New Orleans, suiting up in 35 games for mostly standout special teams duty. Mauti also followed in the footsteps of his father, wide receiver Rich Mauti, in a career as a Saint.
It would take tremendous fears to surpass the accomplishments of Pat Swilling in No. 56 with the Saints, but Demario Davis did just that. Once arriving as a free agent in 2018, Davis helped transform the New Orleans defense into an elite unit. He's also been an iron man, starting 114 regular season contests while missing just two outings over seven years with the team. Davis has often been overlooked in Pro Bowl and All-Pro voting, but has still managed to go to two Pro Bowls and earned first-team All-Pro recognition during the 2019 campaign and 2nd Team honors four times.Demario Davis has averaged over 115 total tackles per year with the Saints. He has 72 stops for loss, 31 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 45 passes broken up. More than just filling up the stat sheet, Davis' elite instincts, athleticism, versatility, and leadership has made him one of the best all-around defenders in the NFL. Once he concludes his career, Davis will certainly be alongside Pat Swilling in the Saints Hall of Fame and should have enough of a resume' for a spot in Canton as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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