Four days from the Saints’ season opener, the countdown has landed on one of the strangest little threads in New Orleans jersey history: No. 4.
Rookie tight end Oscar Delp is set to wear it when the Saints head north to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Delp, a third-round pick, becomes the 12th Saint to take the number, and the list behind him tells a very Saints story - kickers, punters, a couple of quarterbacks, and one defensive back before the number finally lands on a tight end.
The first Saint to wear No. 4 was Mike Cofer in 1987. Before he later built a six-year career and won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, Cofer spent two games with New Orleans as a replacement player during the player strike. He made his lone field goal try and connected on five of seven extra points.
From there, No. 4 became something of a stopover. Of the first 10 Saints to wear it before Kool-Aid McKinstry, seven were kickers or punters, and six lasted two seasons or less.
Steve Walsh was one of the few quarterbacks to get extended use of the number. The Saints traded first-, second-, and third-round draft choices to the Dallas Cowboys to bring him in early in the 1990 season after Bobby Hebert held out for the entire year.
Walsh started 11 games that season, went 6-5, and finished with 1,970 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions on 53.5% passing. Hebert came back in 1991, but Walsh still started seven games as an injury replacement, then was released after appearing in only one game in 1993.
The punter years followed. Klaus Wilmsmeyer wore No. 4 for two seasons and logged 32 games, the second most of any Saint in the number.
He averaged 40.7 yards gross and 33.9 net. Toby Gowin, the player who appeared in the most games in No. 4, suited up in 47 contests and posted a 41.6-yard gross average, a 34.9-yard net, and 28.9% of his punts downed inside the opposing 20.
Todd Bouman gave the number another quarterback chapter, and one tied to a painful era in Saints history. He is the last quarterback to start a game for New Orleans before Drew Brees.
Bouman started the final three games of the 2005 season, the year marked by Hurricane Katrina, and the Saints lost all three during a 3-13 campaign. He completed 55.7% of his passes for 722 yards, two touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
He also saw mop-up duty in one game that season and played sparingly in four games in 2003.
After Bouman, the number bounced back to specialists. Billy Cundiff, Glenn Pakulak, and Brandon Fields combined for 15 games in No. 4 between 2006 and 2021. Blake Gillikin wore it for all of 2021 and part of 2022 before switching to No. 5, and in 2021 he averaged 47.7 yards gross with a 42-yard net and 34.9% of his kicks downed inside the 20.
Then came Derek Carr, the Saints’ 2023 free-agent answer to the quarterback question left behind after Drew Brees retired following the 2020 season. Carr’s production was solid enough on paper: 27 games over two seasons, a 68.2% completion rate, 6,023 yards, 40 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.
But the story around him was never that simple. He took too many sacks, held the ball too long, put receivers in tough spots, and too often missed the critical moments New Orleans needed.
Injuries piled up, the frustration grew, and by the 2025 offseason he was gone.
Kool-Aid McKinstry was next, becoming the first Saints defensive player to wear No. 4.
After a promising rookie season in 2024 in No. 14, he changed numbers and moved into a bigger role in a young secondary and a rebuilding defense. McKinstry delivered, intercepting three passes and breaking up 17 more.
He later switched to No. 1 during the 2026 offseason, the same number he wore at Alabama.
Now the number belongs to Delp, who wore No. 4 at Georgia and will bring it back to offense. He is the first Saints tight end to wear a single-digit number, and the team is expecting him to be a meaningful part of the offense in 2026 and beyond.
In Other News...
Saints Now Have One More Lions Opener Wrinkle To Prepare For
The Lions added another layer to their opener plans by promoting wide receiver and return man Tom Kennedy to the active 53-man roster ahead of their 2026 matchup with the Saints. Kennedy is expected to handle punt and kick return duties, giving Detroit a more defined answer in the third phase of the game as it gets ready for Sunday.
For New Orleans, it is one more detail to sort through before the first real snap of the season, especially in a game where field position can matter early. Detroit also added defensive back Natrone Brooks to its practice squad, a smaller move on paper, but the Kennedy promotion is the one the Saints will be watching closest as they finalize their own opener prep. [Read more 🡒]
Kendre Miller Just Cleared One Saints Concern But Another Is Growing
Kendre Miller no longer appears on the Saints injury report heading into the season opener, which is an encouraging development after he missed practice last week because of an injury. For a player trying to carve out a real role early in the year, simply getting through the final stretch of preparation without an issue matters, especially with New Orleans looking to sort out its backfield rotation from the start.
The larger question now is how much room Miller will actually have once Alvin Kamara is back in the mix. Kamaras return could cap Millers workload, even though there is still a path for him to contribute if he brings the kind of explosiveness the Saints want to see. The expectation is that Miller could see a modest number of carries each game, but his impact may depend on whether he can make the most of those chances. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Need Chase Young To Deliver In A Brutal Week 1 Test
Cameron Jordans absence from the Saints regular-season opener is a significant blow before New Orleans even gets to the first Sunday of the year. Jordan, long one of the most dependable players on the defense, will sit out against Detroit after a hamstring injury in training camp, leaving the Saints to reshuffle their pass-rush plans for a matchup that already looked demanding.
Chase Young is now in line for a much bigger load, and the timing could hardly be tougher. The Lions bring a difficult offense led by Jared Goff, so New Orleans will need pressure up front to keep the game under control and prevent Detroit from settling in. For the Saints, this is the kind of Week 1 test that can quickly show whether Young is ready to carry more of the burden. [Read more 🡒]