84 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 84 jersey

Our countdown to the New Orleans Saints regular season opener has reached 84 days. On Sunday, Sept. 13, the Saints will kick off their year with a road game against the Detroit Lions. Wearing No. 84 as the team heads to training camp is Zaire Mitchell-Paden, a second year tight end.

>Mitchell-Paden is attempting to make the active roster at a suddenly crowded position. He's also the 20th player to wear the number 84 in New Orleans. Our countdown to kickoff series continues with a look at each of the players who wore the jersey.

Saints History of No. 84TE Jimmy Hester (1967-69) • >DE Larry Estes (1970-71) • >WR Preston Riley (1973) • >TE John Beasley (1974) • >TE Paul Seal (1974-76) • >WR Rich Mauti (1977-83) • >TE Junior Miller (1984) • >WR Eric Martin (1985-93) • >WR Steve Rhem (1994-95) • >WR Eric Guliford (1997-98) • >TE Scott Slutzker (1999) • >TE Austin Wheatley (2000) • >WR Michael Lewis (2001-06) • >TE Tory Humphrey (2009-10) • >WR Kenny Stills (2013-14) • >TE Michael Hoomanawanui (2015-17) • >WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey (2019-21) • >TE J.P. Holtz (2023) • >WR Mason Tipton (2024) • >TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden (2025-current)Jimmy Hester wore 84 first for the Saints, suiting up for 29 games over the franchise's first three years of existence. As a selection in Round 14 of the 1967 draft, he was also the first New Orleans draft choice to wear an 84 uniform. Hester caught 22 passes for 354 yards and 3 scores during his Saints career. Larry Estes, an eighth-round pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, is the only defensive player to wear an 84 jersey. Estes played two seasons and 22 games for the team. John Beasley wore 85 in 1973, his first year as a Saint, then 84 briefly in 1974 before a switch back to the 85 jersey.

>Paul Seal came to the Saints in the second round of the 1974 NFL Draft. The 36th overall choice, he is the highest New Orleans draft pick to wear 84. Seal was with the team for 42 games over three seasons. In that time, he had 69 receptions for 952 yards and 4 touchdowns

>Rich Mauti arrived in New Orleans as an undrafted rookie in 1977. Mauti played six years with the team, suiting up in 79 games for the second-longest stint of any Saint to wear an 84 jersey. He was an accomplished kick returner and also caught 21 passes for 314 yards with 2 scores. A little over three decades later, Rich's son Michael Mauti was a linebacker for two seasons with the Saints. Former Falcons star Junior Miller joined the Saints for the final season of his five-year career, catching 8 passes for 81 yards and a score in 15 games.

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>Former LSU star Eric Martin was drafted in the seventh round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Saints. Martin was with New Orleans for all but one of his 10 NFL seasons, with his 143 games the most of any Saint to wear the 84 uniform. Martin would go on to be one of the most accomplished pass catchers in franchise history. He had 532 receptions for 7,854 yards and 48 touchdowns, all career team-high marks for several years after he retired. Martin had three 1,000-yard campaigns, the first to accomplish that in team history, and led the offense in catches and yards for nearly every season during his career. In 1999, Martin became just the second wide receiver to be inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.

>Eric Guliford had a nice two-year run as a punt returner and backup wide receiver following two years of Steve Rhem wearing the 84 jersey. Tight ends Scott Slutzker and Austin Wheatley had similar stints into the turn of the century. Then, an unlikely star made his own legacy in the number 84 for the Saints.

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>Michael Lewis had one of the most improbable careers in the history of the NFL. A star at Grace King High School in Louisiana, Lewis had stints with a few semi-pro and indoor teams before getting a shot with his hometown Saints. To say the least, he made the most of his opportunity. Lewis grabbed an unlikely roster spot in 2001, then took the league by storm in 2002. That season, he averaged an eye-popping 14.2 per punt return with 1 touchdown, took 2 kickoffs back for scores, and led the NFL in all-purpose yards, punt return yards, and kickoff return yards. His 2,432 combined return yards set an NFL record, earning him first team All-Pro recognition.

>Lewis continued to be one of the NFL's most feared returners through 2005. For his career, he also had 28 receptions for 558 yards and a touchdown. Lewis holds the Saints career marks for punt and kickoff return yards, surpassing Tyrone Hughes, another Saints great. His 4 return scores are second to Hughes in franchise history. The 63 games Lewis played are the second most of any New Orleans player to wear 84. In 2015, he took his spot in the Saints Hall of Fame.

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>Tory Humphrey had a two-year stint in the No. 84 before the Saints added wide receiver Kenny Stills with a fifth-round choice in the 2013 NFL Draft. Stills was an explosive element in the offense, catching 95 passes for 1,572 yards and 8 touchdowns in two years and 31 games. Stills was traded away to the Miami Dolphins during the 2015 offseason. He returned to the Saints in 2021 for the final season of his career, but wore No. 12 for 13 games with little production.

>Michael Hoomanawanui wasn't much of a receiving threat for two years as a Saint, but was a valued blocker. Lil'Jordan Humphrey provided decent receiving depth during his three seasons. J.P. Holtz, Mason Tipton, and Zaire Mitchell-Paden each had little production with their turns in an 84 uniform. Tipton wore 15 in 2025 and will come into 2026 with the same number as he tries to make the squad. Mitchell-Paden is still in 84, trying to grab a job in what looks like a loaded tight end spot.

>This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Every Saints player to wear No. 84, from Eric Martin to Kenny Stills