We are down to a 40-day until the New Orleans Saints 2026 season opener. New Orleans will travel north for their season start, playing at the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Second-year edge rusher Fadil Diggs is sporting No. 40 as the Saints begin their training camp.
A seventh round choice in 2025, Diggs saw very limited action as a rookie. He became the 19th player to wear 40 for the Saints. Our countdown to kickoff series rolls on by looking at them all.
Saints History of No. 40
- RB Earl Gros (1970)
- RB Hoyle Granger (1971)
- CB Terry Schmidt (1974-75)
- CB Jim Marsalis (1977)
- QB Greg Knafelc (1983)
- RB Dalton Hilliard (1986)
- CB Michael Adams (1987-88)
- CB Robert Massey (1989-90)
- RB Wes Bender (1997)
- RB Marvin Powell (1999)
- RB Brian Milne (2000)
- CB Mel Mitchell (2002-05)
- RB Mike Bell (2008)
- S Jonathon Amaya (2011)
- RB Brian Leonard (2014)
- CB Delvin Breaux (2015-16)
- RB Alex Armah (2021)
- LB Chase Hansen (2022)
- DE Fadil Diggs (2025-current)
Earl Gros was the first to put on a No. 40 jersey for New Orleans, but did so for only one game. Hoyle Granger was the first to wear it for an entire season but was only a Saint through the 1971 campaign. Of the 18 players who have worn No. 40 with the Saints, 17 of them did so for two
years or less, with 13 of those wearing it for just one year. Terry Schmidt was the first player to keep 40 for more than a season, the first one to be drafted by the Saints to wear No. 40, and also the first defensive player to wear it. Schmidt was with the for two seasons and led the 1974 squad with 4 interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
Dalton Hilliard was a Round 2 choice, 31st overall, from the LSU Tigers in the 1986 NFL draft, the highest drafted player by New Orleans to wear No. 40. Hilliard had a fantastic eight-year career as a Saint. However, he only wore 40 during his 1986 rookie season before switching to his more-familiar No. 21. As a rookie, Hilliard had 138 offensive touches for 532 yards and 5 scores.
Robert Massey was also a Round 2 pick, selected with the 46th overall choice by the Saints in the 1989 NFL draft out of North Carolina Central. Massey had a promising start to his career, intercepting 5 passes for an outstanding 1989 New Orleans defense. He was only with the Saints for two years, however, before going on to standout years with the Phoenix Cardinals and three other teams through 1997.
Brian Milne arrived as a free-agent addition in 2000, which would turn out to be his only year with the team and last of a five-year NFL career. Milne split time at fullback during the 2000 season, rushing for one score, and was also a strong special teams performer. It was there that he was part of one of the most iconic plays in franchise history. The Saints were holding onto a thin 31-28 lead over the St. Louis Rams in a 2000 wild-card playoff game. Milne would recover a fumbled punt late in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory, the first postseason win in New Orleans history.
Mel Mitchell was a fifth-round choice by the Saints in the 2002 NFL draft. More notably, Mitchell is the only player to wear No. 40 with the Saints for more than two years, suiting up for three years and 44 games as primarily a special teams contributor. Of the nine offensive players to wear No. 40 for New Orleans, none wore it for longer than one season. Running back Mike Bell had a strong 2009 in the backfield rotation during the team's Super Bowl XLIV title run, finishing second in rushing yardage. He wore No. 21 that season, only wearing 40 for four games after being signed late in 2008.
The story of Delvin Breaux is one of courage and resilience. A high school star at McDonogh 35, Breaux broke his neck during a game and was unable to play collegiately at LSU. Instead, he'd rehabilitate his injury and starred for the Louisiana Bayou Vipers before going on to be one of the best players in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. From there, Breaux's unlikely journey to the NFL continued when signed by the Saints in 2015. Breaux instantly earned a starting job and started all 16 contests that year. He was a standout corner on an otherwise bad defense, shutting down some of the league's finest receivers and leading the Saints with 3 interceptions and 19 passes broken up.
A broken leg that was misdiagnosed by team doctors in 2016 limited Breaux to only six games and hastened the end of his NFL career the following year. He'd return to the CFL as an all-star but would have undoubtedly had a longer stint as a standout with his hometown Saints if not for the blunders of the medical staff. Since Delvin Breaux, only two players have worn No. 40 for New Orleans in the last eight seasons, doing so for a combined 11 contests. Fadil Diggs now has his second shot at an edge rusher spot where the Saints got deeper this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 40 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 40 jersey
