Countdown to Kickoff: Every Saints player to wear the No. 35 jersey

The New Orleans Saints will welcome 35 days until their 2026 regular season opener as they travel to Detroit to face the Lions on September 13. Second-year safety Elliott Davison will wear No. 35 for the Saints during this season, joining a long list of players who have worn the jersey in franchise history.

LB Ted Davis was the first to wear No. 35 from 1967 to 1969, followed by RB Jim Otis in 1970, RB Bob Gresham from 1971 to 1972, and RB Henry Matthews during the 1973 season. RB Jim Van Wagner wore the jersey in 1978, Earl Campbell from 1984 to 1985, Bobby Morse from 1989 to 1991, CB Shane Pahukoa in 1995, CB Reggie Howard in 2000, CB Chris Canty during 2000-2002, CB Fakhir Brown from 2002 to 2005, RB Jammal Branch between 2006 and 2007, LB Korey Hall in 2011, RB Austin Johnson from 2014 to 2015, RB Zach Zenner in 2019, CB KeiVarae Russell in 2021, and now Elliott Davison, who began wearing No. 35 during the 2025 training camp.

Of the 16 players to have donned No. 35 for the Saints, Davis is one of only three to wear it for more than two years. Gresham, drafted in the eighth round of the 1970 NFL draft, played 27 games over two seasons and is the highest drafted player to wear the iconic number. Campbell, traded to the Saints in 1984, played 24 games but only contributed one touchdown and averaged four yards per carry.

Only two defensive players have worn No. 35 for more than a year before Davison, Ted Davis and Fakhir Brown, with Brown playing the most games at 56. Since Brown, no one has stayed with the Saints into a third season.