The Saints are 54 days from their regular-season opener, and the number on the countdown lines up with a familiar jersey in New Orleans. Edge rusher Anfernee Jennings, one of the team’s offseason additions, is set to wear No. 54 when training camp opens.
Jennings arrives with a clear job in front of him: give the Saints depth off the edge behind Cam Jordan and Chase Young. There’s also a chance he gets work at off-ball linebacker, which gives him a little more room to carve out a role. If he sticks, he’ll become the 27th player to wear No. 54 for New Orleans.
That number has been all over the map in Saints history, from offensive line beginnings to a long run of linebackers and edge defenders. Joe Wendryhoski was the first to wear it, serving as the original center for the expansion Saints in 1967 and starting all 28 games at the position over the team’s first two seasons.
He remains one of only two offensive players in franchise history to wear No. 54.
Tom Roussel followed as the first of 23 defensive players to claim it, appearing in 21 games across two seasons with 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. After him came a mix of draft picks, veterans, and short-term stopgaps, with a few names standing out from the pack.
Rick Middleton was the first Saints draft pick to wear No. 54, and he came with serious expectations. New Orleans took the Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker in the first round, 13th overall, in 1974.
The fit never really clicked. He lasted two seasons, played 28 games, and finished with one interception and a half sack before being dealt to the San Diego Chargers.
He remains the highest-drafted player by New Orleans to wear the number, and the pick is remembered for the Saints passing on his Ohio State teammate, Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar, who went to the Denver Broncos one spot later.
Pat Hughes gave the jersey a much steadier run. He arrived two years after Middleton and put together a three-year stretch with the Saints, playing 46 games with 7 interceptions, 5.5 sacks, and 4 fumble recoveries. He was one of only six players among the 25 previous Saints to wear No. 54 for more than two seasons.
Alvin Toles, another first-round Saints selection, wore it next and stayed with the team for all four of his NFL seasons. Taken 24th overall out of Tennessee in 1985, Toles appeared in 55 games but started only 17, spending most of his time behind the Dome Patrol foursome after they formed in 1986.
Even so, his 55 games are the second-most by any Saints player in No. 54.
There was then a long gap before the number resurfaced again in 1994, when Winfred Tubbs took it over. A third-round pick that year, Tubbs spent four seasons in New Orleans and played 52 games, recording 5 interceptions, 5.5 sacks, and a 1997 season in which he piled up 160 tackles to finish second in the NFL.
Darrin Smith later became the most durable No. 54 in Saints history. The free-agent linebacker joined New Orleans in 2000 and played the final five seasons of his 12-year career there. He logged 64 games and 52 starts, both team highs for anyone who wore the number, while adding 5 interceptions, 8 sacks, and an average of 79 tackles per season.
The last two decades have been a much more crowded stretch for No. 54, with 13 players wearing it and 10 of them holding it for a year or less. Ramon Humber and Jo-Lonn Dunbar each had some production in multiple seasons, though most of their best work came in other numbers. Nate Stupar stands out as the most productive recent wearer, bringing special teams value and adding an interception, 2 forced fumbles, and a sack in 20 games on defense.
Now Jennings gets the latest shot at making the number his own. The former New England Patriots defender has spent most of his NFL career as an edge rusher, and that’s where he’ll battle for a roster spot. But if the Saints want to test him inside as well, No. 54 has room for one more chapter.
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