22 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 22

USA Today

a day ago

From Lorenzo Neal to Tracy Porter and Rashid Shaheed
There is now just a 22-day wait until the New Orleans Saints play their first game of the 2025 regular season. It will be at home against the Arizona Cardinals, but under a new head coach in Kellen Moore. There are several new faces on the team, but one familiar one is wideout Rashid Shaheed, who wears No. 22. Entering his fourth year with the team and third in that number, Shaheed is part of a history of standout playmakers to wear the jersey. Here is the full list.
Saints' History of No. 22
Charlie Brown was the first player and first to be drafted by the Saints to wear No. 22. A Round 10 selection in the team's inaugural 1967 draft, Brown had just 16 yards rushing but 2 touchdowns in six games over the franchise's first two seasons. The Saints acquired future Green Bay Packers NFL Hall of Fame running backs Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung for the first year in 1967. In 1970, they tried that same philosophy with former Packers star Elijah Pitts. The strategy had similar disappointing results, with Pitts rushing for only 96 yards on 32 attempts in six games.
A fourth-round pick in the 1971 NFL draft, Dee Martin was the first defensive player to don No. 22. Martin had 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries while starting all 14 contests as a rookie. However, he was placed on injured reserve the following year and spent just that one season in the NFL. Pitts and Martin were two of the 12 (out of 20) players to wear No. 22 for New Orleans that used the uniform for two years or fewer.
Van Jakes was the first since Charlie Brown 20 years earlier to wear No. 22 for more than two years. Jakes was an underrated player in the Saints secondary through three years and 40 games. He had 8 interceptions over that span. Gil Fenerty was an underrated offensive contributor into the early 1990s. A Round 7 choice from Holy Cross in 1986, Fenerty played three years in the CFL before joining the Saints in 1990. He'd be with the team two years as a quality reserve back, scoring 7 touchdowns and picking up 1,276 yards from scrimmage.
A 1988 Round 1 draft bust with the Chicago Bears, Brad Muster came to New Orleans in 1993 as the Saints' own 1988 draft pick, Craig Heyward, headed to Chicago. Muster was with the Saints for two years, only wearing No. 22 his first season as he picked up just 214 rushing yards. Lorenzo Neal took over No. 22 in 1994 after wearing No. 23 as a fourth-round choice in the 1993 NFL draft. Neal had a 16-year career as one of the most respected fullbacks in the NFL, with four of those years as a Saint. He only wore 23 as a rookie before switching to No. 22.
Tyronne Drakeford had a solid career in the Saints defensive backfield after coming over from San Francisco. Drakeford had 4 interceptions for the 1998 squad, returning one for a touchdown. Fred Thomas followed him in the No. 22 jersey in 2000. While Thomas often faced the ire of New Orleans fans and media, his 109 games over eight years is the second longest stint for by any Saint in a No. 22 uniform. Thomas had 13 interceptions, forced 9 fumbles, and broke up 77 throws during his time in New Orleans, including 9 picks over a two-year stretch between 2002 and 2003.
A much more popular Tracy Porter succeeded Thomas in the No. 22 uniform as a second round choice in the 2008 NFL draft. Porter is best-known for his critical interception in the 2010 NFC Championship Game, then the 74-yard interception return for a touchdown to clinch the Saints win in Super Bowl XLIV. However, he was an outstanding playmaker at corner for four years with New Orleans. Over that span, Porter had 7 interceptions, 32 pass breakups, and 4 fumbles forced. This year, Porter will be enshrined into the Saints Hall of Fame.
While Porter was responsible for a couple of iconic moments in franchise history, the standard for No. 22 with the Saints is Mark Ingram. The Heisman Trophy winning running back from the Alabama Crimson Tide was the 28th choice in Round 1 of the 2011 NFL draft, making him the highest drafted player by New Orleans to wear No. 22. While he wore three different numbers with the Saints, Ingram also played more games in a No. 22 jersey than any other New Orleans player.
Over his first few seasons, Ingram shared backfield duties with other talents. Once becoming the featured back, Ingram had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons and another of over 960 yards over a four-year stretch. He left as a free agent after the 2018 campaign, but returned to New Orleans in 2021 for two years to cap off his career. At the time of his retirement after 2022, Ingram's 6,500 rushing yards, 52 scores as a runner, and 1,451 attempts were all tops in franchise history. Once eligible, Mark Ingram is a lock for the Saints Hall of Fame.
In between Ingram's stints in the No. 22 uniform was C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a fourth round choice in the 2019 NFL draft. Gardner-Johnson made an instant impact for the New Orleans defense. Over his three years with the squad, he had 5 interceptions while breaking up 28 passes along with recording 3 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Gardner-Johnson was poised to be a centerpiece for the Saints defense, but his immaturity over a contract dispute forced a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles during 2022 training camp.
After Gardner-Johnson's tantrums and Ingram's retirement, the No. 22 jersey became available for Rashid Shaheed in 2023. The explosive Shaheed burst onto the scene as an undrafted rookie in 2022 wearing No. 89. Once switching to No. 22 in 2023, Shaheed earned first team All-Pro honors as a punt returner averaging 13.6 yards and a touchdown. He added 46 receptions for 719 yards that season. Shaheed was off to an even better start last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury before the midway point. Now recovered, expect the electric Shaheed to be a vital part of the Saints offense and return units again in 2025.