Saints Countdown To NFL Kickoff With The History Of Number 80
Thursday means just 80 days remain before the New Orleans Saints host the Arizona Cardinals in their 2025-26 regular season opener.
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The Saints will be embarking on their 59th NFL season. They'll be doing so with a new head coach in Kellen Moore after the team's 5-12 finish a year ago.
Rookie tight end Moliki Matavao will be wearing number 80 for New Orleans going into training camp next month. Out of UCLA, Matavao was the first of two choices in Round 7 by the Saints in this year's draft.
If he makes the roster and keeps his current number, Matavao would become the 33rd player to wear No. 80 for the Saints in a regular season game. Here's a look through the list of other players that have done so.
Saints History of 80
Jan 14, 2012; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) sprints for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the 2011 NFC divisional playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
• Jim Garcia, DE (1967)
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• Richard Neal, DE (1969)
• Mike Walker, DE (1971)
• Doug Winslow, WR (1973)
• Earl McCullouch, WR (1974)
• Sam Havrilak, WR (1974)
• Larry Burton, WR (1975-77)
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Larry Burton (80). Credit: neworleanssaints.com
• Gordon Banks, WR (1980-81)
• Lindsay Scott, WR (1982-85)
• Mike Miller, WR (1985)
• Malcolm Barnwell, WR (1985)
• Herbert Harris, WR (1986-87)
• Stacey Dawsey, WR (1987)
• Brett Perriman, WR (1988-90)
• Wesley Carroll, WR (1991-92)
• Marcus Dowdell, WR (1993)
• Tyrone Johnson, WR (1994)
• Haywood Jeffires, WR (1996)
• Daryl Hobbs, WR (1997)
• Tony Johnson, TE (1998)
• P.J. Franklin, WR (1999)
• Robert Wilson, WR (2000-01)
• Jerome Pathon, WR (2002-04)
• Chad Meier, TE (2005)
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• Mark Campbell, TE (2006-08)
• Darnell Dinkins, TE (2009)
• Jimmy Graham, TE (2010-14, 2023)
• Austin Carr, WR (2017-20)
• Chris Hogan, WR (2021)
• Kawaan Baker, WR (2021)
• Jarvis Landry, WR (2022)
• Jermaine Jackson, WR (2024)
• Moliki Matavao, TE (present)
Dec 12, 1982; FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints receiver Lindsay Scott (80) catches a pass against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Manny Rubio-Imagn Images
Jim Garcia was the first to wear number 80 for New Orleans, doing so in the team's inaugural season for 12 games and recording one sack. Richard Neal followed as a second round draft choice in 1969. Neal was with the Saints for five years of his career, wearing three different numbers and only number 80 during his rookie year.
Six different players wore the 80 jersey between 1967 and 1975, with none wearing it for more than a year. That changed with WR Larry Burton, a first-round pick and seventh overall choice out of Purdue in 1975. Burton was also a world-class sprinter who finished fourth in the 200m (20.37) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and once held the world record (5.9 seconds) in the 60m sprint.
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As a football player, Burton wasn't nearly as successful and goes down as one of the biggest draft busts in New Orleans history. In three years with the Saints, he suited up in 28 games and caught just 35 passes for 615 yards and 4 touchdowns.
1989 Topps football card of New Orleans Saints wide receiver Brett Perriman (80). Credit: ebay
Less than a year after trading productive wideout Wes Chandler, the Saints tried to replace him with Lindsay Scott, the 13th overall choice in the 1982 NFL Draft. Scott would instead take a place alongside Burton as one of the biggest draft busts in the franchise's history.
In four seasons with the Saints, Scott played in 49 games and made only 22 starts. He had just 69 receptions for 864 yards and only 1 touchdown. Scott was out of football altogether after those four years.
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From 1967 to 1987, there were 13 players that suited up in a number 80 for New Orleans. Only the disappointments of Burton and Scott played the equivalent of more than one year in the jersey. New Orleans hoped to break that string with the drafting of two productive Miami Hurricanes wide receivers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The first of those Hurricanes stars was WR Brett Perriman in 1988. Perriman played 46 games for New Orleans over three seasons. Over than span, however, he managed a somewhat pedestrian total of 72 receptions for 953 yards and 4 touchdowns. After leaving the Saints, Perriman's production would skyrocket in the run-and-shoot attack of the Detroit Lions.
Nov 3, 1991; FILE PHOTO; New Orleans Saints receiver Wesley Carroll (80) fights for a pass against the Los Angeles Rams. Mandatory Credit: Peter Brouillet-USA TODAY NETWORK
The second Hurricanes star was Wesley Carroll, drafted after Perriman departed in 1991. Carroll had similar results. He'd play 28 games for the Saints over two years, catching 36 passes for 476 yards with 3 touchdowns. By 1994, Carroll was out of the NFL.
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After Carroll left, the Saints saw 11 different players suit up in number 80 over a 17-year span between 1993 and 2009. Only wideout Jerome Pathon had any reasonable success. Pathon had 121 receptions for 1,682 yards and 9 touchdowns in a three-year stretch between 2006 and 2008. He and tight end Mark Campbell were also the only two players who managed to stay with the Saints for more than two years over that 17-year span.
The 2010 NFL Draft brought not just the best number 80 in franchise history but one of its best offensive players and one of the most gifted tight ends in NFL history.
Nov 21, 2013; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) breaks a tackle against the Atlanta Falcons. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Jimmy Graham's 2010 rookie season was one of promise with 5 touchdown catches in 31 receptions. What followed was one of the most productive stretches in the history of the franchise.
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Graham caught 99 passes for 1,310 yards and 11 scores in 2011. He followed that up with 85 receptions, 982 yards, and 9 touchdowns in 2012. The 2013 campaign saw him pull in 86 passes for 1,215 yards and an NFL-best 16 scores. In 2014, Graham had 85 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.
New Orleans traded Graham to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2014 offseason in a controversial move. After nine years and three different teams, Graham would return to the Saints in 2023 with 4 touchdowns on his six receptions.
Nov 3, 2013; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) dunks the ball over the goal post after a touchdown against the New York Jets. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images
Graham was with the Saints for a total of six years and 91 games, far more than anyone else who has worn No. 80 for the team. Over that stretch, he had 392 receptions for 4,791 yards and 55 touchdowns.
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Jimmy Graham is second in franchise history in touchdown receptions and sixth for both career catches and receiving yardage. He holds the team's single-season record for scoring receptions and no one other than Michael Thomas has more receptions in a season.
Since Graham's original departure in 2014, six different players have worn 80 but only Austin Carr for more than one year. Only Jarvis Landry showed flashes of production. Now, Moliki Matavao takes his turn in 80.
Related: Saints Sign Another Player To Their Tight End Position
Related: Saints Countdown To NFL Kickoff With The History Of Number 82
Related: Saints Countdown To NFL Kickoff With The History Of Number 84
Related: Saints Countdown To Kickoff With The History Of Number 87
Related: Saints Countdown To Kickoff With The History Of Number 89
Related: Derek Carr Further Explains Retirement Decision From New Orleans Saints
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
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