Saints Career Franchise Records About to Fall

Several New Orleans franchise records are in jeopardy heading into the 2022 season, as a crop of current Saints players are poised to carve their names into the history books.

Bob Rose | Sep 4, 2022

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New Orleans Saints

Several New Orleans Saints players have the opportunity to carve out a place in the franchise's all-time record books in 2022. With the NFL in their second year of a 17-game regular season, players have better chances at single-season team and league records.

Outside of single season marks, there are a number of New Orleans players are also poised to move up the team’s career statistics list. Here are some of the Saints career records that could fall in 2022.

Career Sacks (official)

Rickey Jackson - 115 (unofficially 123)

Cameron Jordan - 107

Oct 31, 1993; FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints linebacker Rickey Jackson (57) in action against the Phoenix Cardinals. Mandatory Credit USA TODAY Sports

Sacks didn't become an official NFL statistic until 1982, nullifying the 8 sacks that Rickey Jackson had during his 1981 rookie campaign. Jackson had a 15-year Hall of Fame career, 13 seasons in New Orleans. He had six seasons of double-digit sack totals with the Saints, adding two more years with at least nine sacks.

Jordan enters his 12th NFL season, all with the Saints, on the cusp of breaking Jackson's 29-year-old franchise record. A first-round pick out of California in 2011, Jordan hasn't had less than 7.5 sacks in a season since his rookie campaign. He has double-digit sack totals in six seasons, including four of the last five years.

The 33-year-old Jordan is still playing at a high level. He had 12.5 sacks in 2021, with 8.5 coming in the last four games. With 8.5 sacks this season, Jordan would overtake Jackson as the all-time franchise leader.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

With 16.5 sacks, Jordan would pass Jackson's unofficial franchise total of 123. Jordan's career-high sack total is 15.5, achieved in 2019.

Two of the greatest players in franchise history, Jackson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, the first predominantly Saints player to receive the honor. Jordan has a strong chance to join him in Canton at the conclusion of his career.

Career Rushing Yards

Mark Ingram - 6,267

Deuce McAllister - 6,096

George Rogers - 4,267

Alvin Kamara - 4,238

Dec 31, 2017; New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram (22) runs the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Ingram, entering his 12th NFL season and tenth with New Orleans, looks to add on to his franchise leading rushing total. Hot on his heels is Kamara, who needs just 30 yards to pass George Rogers for third place on the franchise rushing list.

A third-round choice in the 2017 NFL Draft by New Orleans, Kamara has led the team in rushing yards for the last four years, averaging over 877 yards per season.

With 1,858 rushing yards, which would be a single-season franchise record, Kamara would also pass McAllister for second place. Kamara's career-high in rushing yards is 932, accomplished in 2019.

Nov 7, 2021; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Ingram, who will back up Kamara this season, figures to hold him off for a few more seasons. Kamara, on the other hand, looks to become just the eighth player in New Orleans history to record a 1,000-yard rushing season.

Ingram accomplished that feat twice, in back-to-back years in 2016 and 2017. McAllister has the franchise record for most 1,000-yard rushing seasons with four.

Career Rushing Attempts

Deuce McAllister - 1,429

Mark Ingram - 1,389

Dalton Hilliard - 1,126

George Rogers - 995

Alvin Kamara - 912

December 28, 2008; New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister (26) carries the ball against the Carolina Panthers. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

The 32-year-old Ingram needs only 41 rushing attempts to take over first place in this category. In just seven games with the Saints last season, he had 68 carries for 260 yards. Ingram's top spot on this list may also be short-lived.

Alvin Kamara has averaged over 182 rushing attempts per season over his five-year career, including a career-high 240 carries in 2021. A healthy Ingram is sure to cut into that total, but Kamara seems a solid bet to get the 215 rushing attempts necessary to pass Dalton Hilliard for third place.

Career Rushing Touchdowns

Mark Ingram - 51

Deuce McAllister - 49

Alvin Kamara - 47

Dec 25, 2020; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against the Minnesota Vikings. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY

Ingram has been a friend and mentor to Kamara since 2017. This figures to be a good-natured battle all season for the franchise lead in rushing touchdowns. Still a threat in goal-line situations, Ingram figures to have his fair share of scoring opportunities in 2021.

Kamara has been a scoring machine since entering the league. He holds the franchise's single-season rushing touchdown record with 16 in 2020, surpassing his own team record of 14 in 2018.

Kamara had a career-low four rushing scores last season, but that figures to be much higher with additional offensive weapons to attract defensive attention in 2022.

Career Total Touchdowns

Marques Colston - 72

Alvin Kamara - 68

Mark Ingram - 56

Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston (12) runs after a catch against the New York Giants. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Colston is in the argument for the franchise's greatest receiver and was vastly underappreciated during his 10 magnificent seasons. Kamara, in less than six years of action, is poised to pass him as the Saints all-time leader in total touchdowns.

Already the franchise's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns by a running back, Kamara's versatility makes him one of the NFL's most dynamic weapons.

As a receiver, Kamara has 373 receptions for 3,263 yards and 20 touchdowns in five seasons. With even an average year, he’ll move significantly up the Saints all-time receiving list in all three categories.

Career Receptions

Marques Colston - 711

Eric Martin - 532

Joe Horn - 523

Michael Thomas - 510

Jimmy Graham - 386

Alvin Kamara - 373

Dec 29, 2019; New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas (13) runs after a reception against the Carolina Panthers. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Colston is the Saints all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions. He figures to hold onto those marks a little longer, but there’s another current New Orleans player other than Kamara rocketing up the team’s record list - WR Michael Thomas.

Before missing 26 of the last 33 games with a serious ankle injury, including all of 2021, Thomas had set NFL records for productivity over his first five seasons. He hauled in 470 receptions between 2016 and 2019, including an NFL-record 149 catches in 2019.

Now healthy, the 29-year-old Thomas seems primed for a big bounce-back year. With additional offensive weapons, a repeat of his eye-popping 149 receptions seems unlikely. However, the 23 catches needed to pass Eric Martin for second place could happen within the first few games of the year.

Thomas averaged over 117 receptions per year in his first four seasons. He’s had five or more catches in an incredible 56 of his 70 regular season games, including 25 outings of at least nine receptions.

Career Receiving Yards

Marques Colston - 9,759

Eric Martin - 7,854

Joe Horn - 7,622

Michael Thomas - 5,950

Danny Abramowicz - 4,875

Jimmy Graham - 4,752

Devery Henderson - 4,377

Lance Moore - 4,281

Hoby Brenner - 3,849

Quinn Early - 3,758

Alvin Kamara - 3,263

Saints receiver Michael Thomas after a catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers. SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY

Michael Thomas averaged 1,378 yards per year over his first four NFL seasons. He already holds the team’s top two marks for receiving yards in a single season with 1,405 in 2018 and an NFL-high 1,725 in 2019.

Thomas needs to equal his career high just to pass Joe Horn for third place. With the offseason additions of Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave at receiver that seems unlikely. However, the dominant Thomas seems to have a chip on his shoulder coming into this season.

Kamara is coming off a career-low 47 receptions for 439 yards in 2021. However, remember that this a player who averaged 82 catches and 706 yards over his first four seasons.

With 1,114 receiving yards, not out of the question for a player with Kamara's versatility, he’d vault past the underrated Early and franchise Hall of Famers Brenner, Moore, and Henderson. He’s just 607 yards shy, lower than his five-year average, from ninth place in franchise history.

Career Extra Points

Morten Andersen - 412
John Carney - 264
Wil Lutz - 253

Jan 5, 2020; New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz (3) kicks a field goal out of the hold of punter Thomas Morstead (6) against the Minnesota Vikings. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Another member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Andersen spent 13 seasons as a Saint and holds most of the team’s career kicking records. Lutz, who missed last year but is entering his sixth season with the team, is working his way to ‘‘The Great Dane’’ rapidly.

The 28-year-old Lutz has averaged nearly 51 extra points over his five-year career. His career best of 57 extra points in 2020 is second only to John Kasay's 63 (2011) for the highest single-season total in team history. He’ll need 3-4 more years at his current pace to pass Andersen, but should pass Carney, a Saints Hall of Famer, early this season.

Career Field Goals

Morten Andersen- 302
John Carney - 168
Wil Lutz - 142

Dec 19, 1994; FILE PHOTO: New Orleans Saints kicker Morten Andersen (7) kicks a field goal against the Dallas Cowboys. Mandatory Credit: James D. Smith-USA TODAY

Carney, who played eight of his 23 NFL seasons in New Orleans, is also about to give up second place to Lutz in this category. Lutz, who has converted nearly 87% of his career field goal attempts, has averaged 28 field goals per year. That includes a single-season franchise record of 32 field goals in 2019, breaking a tie of 31 between himself, Carney, and Andersen.

Rickey Jackson's 115 official sacks is currently the longest held career record by a New Orleans player. With that ready to fall, courtesy of Cam Jordan, Andersen's 27-year franchise record of successful field goals, extra points, and points scored (1,318) are next in line.

Wil Lutz will need a handful of highly productive seasons to supplant Andersen at the top of the franchise record books. However, he joins Jordan, Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram, and Michael Thomas among the current New Orleans players carving their names into team history.