Tag: Marques Colston

Alvin Kamara won another Saints franchise record against the Giants

Alvin Kamara won yet another Saints franchise record against the Giants. No player has had more seasons with 1,000-plus scrimmage yards in team history:

Don’t look now, but Alvin Kamara has won yet another New Orleans Saints franchise record during his performance against the New York Giants. No player has had more seasons with 1,000-plus scrimmage yards in team history — a feat Kamara has now accomplished seven times.

Kamara went into Sunday’s matchup with 966 scrimmage yards through his first 10 games in 2023, and he went the distance midway through the third quarter to join the Comma Club again. Here are the leaders in Saints franchise history for 1,000-yard seasons:

  • RB Alvin Kamara: 7
  • WR Marques Colston: 6
  • WR Michael Thomas, RB Mark Ingram II, RB Deuce McAllister, and WR Joe Horn: 4
  • WR Eric Martin, RB Ricky Williams: 3

Kamara’s impact on the Saints can’t be understated: he’s a rare talent who landed in the perfect spot to make the most of his talents with Drew Brees throwing to him and Sean Payton drawing up his plays to start his career. And he’s still producing. Hopefully he can keep it going for years to come.

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Puka Nacua matches feat only accomplished by Marques Colston in rookie year

Puka Nacua and Marques Colston are the only rookies drafted outside the top 100 to go over 1,000 yards receiving

Each week, it seems like Rams rookie receiver Puka Nacua is breaking another record or making more history. The star wideout from BYU is having one of the best rookie seasons ever by a receiver and in Sunday’s win over the Browns, he accomplished yet another impressive feat.

According to NFL.com, Nacua became just the second rookie in NFL history to have at least 1,000 yards receiving after being drafted outside the top 100. The only other player to do this was Marques Colston of the Saints, who had 1,038 yards in his rookie season in 2006. Colston was drafted 252nd overall out of Hofstra, so he was an even bigger long shot than Nacua.

With 1,029 yards this season, Nacua only needs 10 more yards to surpass Colston for the most yards ever by a rookie drafted outside the top 100. Nacua is also approaching the rookie receiving yardage record, which is held by Bill Groman (1,473 yards).

With five games remaining, Nacua needs 445 yards to surpass Groman for the most all-time – a record that’s stood for 62 years.

Podcast: Flowers for Pete Carmichael, Alvin Kamara TD record, Saints-Texans preview

Podcast: Flowers for Pete Carmichael, Alvin Kamara TD record, Saints-Texans preview

The Saints Wire podcast is live with managing editor John Sigler (@john_siglerr) and our host Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG). You can subscribe for new episodes released each week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.

Pete Carmichael gave the people what they wanted in Week 5’s offensive eruption, leading to Alvin Kamara breaking the franchise touchdowns record — earning praise from Marques Coslton, the previous record-holder. Then we’re shifting gears and previewing Week 6’s matchup with the Houston Texans, where the Saints must maintain their uptick in production on offense. Tap in.

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WATCH: Marques Colston responds to Alvin Kamara breaking his franchise scoring record

WATCH: Marques Colston responds to Alvin Kamara breaking his franchise scoring record

Now this is cool. There weren’t many players more beloved by fans than Marques Colston during his time with the New Orleans Saints, with the “Quiet Storm” rising from an afterthought as a late-round draft pick to become the team’s record-holder for touchdowns scored (72).

But his record fell on Sunday with star running back Alvin Kamara rumbling into the end zone for his 73rd career score. And though Colston was often slow to speak on his own accomplishments as a player, he was quick to praise Kamara’s achievement on Sunday.

Colston responded to Kamara’s historic play in a video shared by the Saints on social media, “Hey what’s up Alvin, just want to say congratulations on your new touchdown record. As a fan of the game I love everything about your game, love everything you bring to the field and to the organization. Just truly excited for you because I know you’re just getting started. I can’t wait to see how much higher you push the bar. Congrats again.”

It’s really cool to see two great players from different eras of Saints football interact like this. Colston may not be No. 1 in the record books anymore, but fans are still going to look back on his career fondly for a very long time.

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WATCH: Alvin Kamara’s record-breaking TD ends Saints offensive drought

WATCH: Alvin Kamara’s record-breaking TD ends Saints offensive scoring drought

Alvin Kamara put the New Orleans Saints ahead of the New England Patriots by two scores on Sunday with a touchdown run that was big for multiple reasons.

The Saints offense had been without a touchdown since the first quarter of the Week 3 game against the Green Bay Packers, with both the special teams and defensive units scoring touchdowns in the meantime. Finally finding the endzone again could mean big things for the offense’s confidence.

With the touchdown run, Kamara also broke Marques Colston’s franchise touchdown scoring record. Kamara is now up to 73 touchdowns on his career. He has 50 rushing touchdowns, 22 receiving and one kickoff return touchdown from his rookie season. It was his first score of the season as he missed the first three games with suspension, his return to the field has opened up the offense much more.

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Every 1,000-yard receiver in New Orleans Saints history

Marques Colston, Michael Thomas, and Joe Horn have the most 1,000-yard seasons in Saints history. Overall, there have been 27 such seasons. | @southexclusives

In the Drew Brees-Sean Payton era, the New Orleans Saints became known for their high powered offense and gaudy passing yards. That era from 2006-2020 alone produced 15 of the 27 1,000 yard receiving seasons in team history. Those years were highlighted by the leading receiver in team history, Marques Colston, the only receiving threat with multiple First Team All Pro selections, Michael Thomas, and one of the best tight ends in the league, Jimmy Graham. The Saints finished with two 1,000 yard receivers in 2011 (Colston, Graham), 2012 (Colston, Lance Moore), and 2016 (Brandin Cooks, Thomas.)

Prior to this era, Saints wide receivers were highlighted by Joe Horn and Eric Martin. Horn hit the ground running with three consecutive seasons over 1,250 yards upon his arrival in New Orleans in 2000. Martin was the lead receiver from the late 1980’s to early 1990’s.

The first Saints 1,000 yard receiver was Danny Abramowicz and the latest is Chris Olave. Here is a breakdown of those two and every receiver to cross the century mark in the Black & Gold.

Top 20 receiving leaders in New Orleans Saints franchise history

These are the top 20 receiving leaders in New Orleans Saints franchise history, starting with the Quiet Storm himself Marques Colston:

The New Orleans Saints have boasted some impressive receivers over the years — including Marques Colston, the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown catches, and one of two wideouts in NFL history to catch more than 700 passes without receiving a Pro Bowl nod (the other was Joey Galloway, if you’re wondering).

But which players rank highest in the team’s record books? Here are the top 20 Saints players in career receiving yardage, starting with the Quiet Storm:

A.T. Perry listed among late-round rookies who can make immediate impact

The Athletic listed New Orleans Saints sixth-round draft pick A.T. Perry among late-round rookies who can make immediate impacts:

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Here’s another NFL analyst joining the A.T. Perry fan club. The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner likes the New Orleans Saints’ sixth-round pick as a rookie who could immediately impact his new team, highlighting the former Wake Forest standout along with other rookies who can outplay their slot as Day 3 picks in the 2023 draft:

Remember what we said earlier about long speed? Perry measured in at his pro day at 6-3, 202 with 33 3/14 inch arms, after running a 4.47 at the combine. He also broad jumped more than 11 feet. Perry, whose 28 career touchdown catches tied with Calvin Johnson’s for seventh most in ACC history, could use a bit more speed, but he’s fast enough and big enough to make an impact.

In each of his final two college seasons, Perry posted at least 70 catches and broke 1,000 yards. He was a lot more than a big guy who caught jump balls (although he did some of that, too). A very agile receiver (6.81-second three-cone), Perry can be good against man or zone. And though he’s not going to blow the top off any defense, he has starting X-receiver potential.

Even if Michael Thomas is back for the Saints, Perry can help early, all while also learning from a stellar veteran receiver.

Perry may not see many snaps early on if Thomas is healthy and managing a full workload himself. He’s been compared to Marques Colston by many fans (and by Colston himself in terms of their physical play style), but they filled very different roles on offense. Perry lined up as the X-receiver at split end almost exclusively at Wake Forest, which is where Thomas normally plays for New Orleans, with fewer than 10% of his career routes starting from the slot (which is where Colston made a living).

So if the Saints envision Perry as a big slot receiver like Coslton, they’ll need to coach him up and work with him as he picks up that part of the playbook. Odds are he’ll be competing to back up Thomas along with guys like Bryan Edwards, Shaquan Davis, Tre’Quan Smith, and Keith Kirkwood as a rookie. He certainly has the talent to win that competition and get on the field early on, but it’s not as clear a path to playing-time as you’d first expect.

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Saints receivers Marques Colston, A.T. Perry shared the same college offensive coordinator

Marques Colston shared a great nugget during his appearance on the NOF podcast. He and A.T. Perry shared the same college offensive coordinator:

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Here’s a great nugget from Marques Colston’s appearance on the NewOrleans.Football podcast — when discussing the state of his old New Orleans Saints team and rookie draft pick A.T. Perry (who has drawn a lot of comparisons to Colston in recent weeks), Colston noted that he and Perry have more in common than you’d first expect. As a former seventh-round pick from Hofstra, Colston empathizes with Perry as a sixth rounder and fellow late-round pick who uses rare size and strength to win their matchups.

“The funny connection is his offensive coordinator there, Warren Ruggiero, was my offensive coordinator at Hofstra my last few years there,” Colston said. “So when I would watch A.T. play, it looked very, very familiar. Similar offense, similar skill set, body build.”

Ruggiero is an interesting figure in the college football landscape — 57 years old, he’s the offensive coordinator and play caller at Wake Forest with decades of experience at the college level. In addition to Hofstra, he’s also coached at William & Mary, Elon, Kansas State, and Bowling Green while sending players to the pros like Josh Freeman, John Wolford, Jamie Newman, and soon, Sam Hartman. Not to mention Colston, the Saints’ all-time leader in receptions (711), receiving yards (9,759), and touchdown catches (72).

But it’s not like Colston immediately found success in New Orleans. After his own rough start, he didn’t expect he’d last until training camp: “At rookie minicamp I thought for sure I’d get cut. We had a three-day minicamp and I practiced for maybe half of the first day and was injured the rest of the time. So I came out of rookie minicamp thinking I was going to get cut. Came out of OTA’s not feeling really good about any chance I had on making the roster.

“So coming into training camp, my sole purpose was to survive. So from the day we got to Millsaps (College in Jackson, Miss.) I was in survival mode. It was a blessing in disguise for me because I didn’t allow myself to see anything going around me. As the depth chart started moving around, I was oblivious to it. I was in survival mode for six weeks straight.”

That’s a lesson he’d like to impart to Perry. The rookie had a couple of dropped passes in the team’s latest minicamp practices, but that’s something Colston said shouldn’t weigh too heavily on him. The rookie will have ample opportunities to stand out over the summer. He says Perry should keep his chin up and move with confidence and self-assurance.

Colston continued, “So what I would tell him is ‘Just be you.’ I know we take a lot of stock in these draft picks and draft positions, at the end of the day there’s 1,800 people who get to do this. And if you’re in the top 1,800 in the world, in any industry, you’re doing alright.”

This was a really great and insightful interview, so be sure to give it a listen. Colston shared his thoughts on Pete Carmichael Jr., Michael Thomas, Chris Olave, and the state of the team moving forward, as well as the various ventures he’s pursued since hanging up his cleats. The “Quiet Storm” is still rolling.

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Every Round 7 draft pick the Saints have chosen since 2002

NFL draft: Every New Orleans Saints seventh-round pick since 2002, highlighted by Zach Strief and Marques Colston in 2006

The seventh and final round of the annual NFL draft has brought mixed results to the New Orleans Saints — they hit home runs on both of their seventh-round picks back in 2006, giving fans hope that every subsequent seventh rounder could be the next Zach Strief or Marques Colston. But more often than not these late-round fliers haven’t panned out. The drop in prospect quality from earlier in the draft is often just too tough to overcome.

Still, with the Saints picking twice in the seventh round this year, it’s worth looking back on past results to set a realistic expectation for the upcoming rookies. Here’s the Saints draft history in Round 7 and every other phase of the draft under longtime general manager Mickey Loomis: