79 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 79 jersey

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79 days until Saints opener: Every player to wear the No. 79 jersey

Bob Rose , Saints Wire · Saints Wire

Fri, Jun 26, 2026 ·

3 min read

Saints History of No. 79

DT Lou Cordileone (1967-68)

DT Clovis Swinney (1970)

G Emanuel Zanders (1974-80)

OT Chuck Slaughter (1982)

G Ralph Williams (1986)

G Henry Thomas (1987)

G/T Glenn Derby (1989-90)

DT Tory Epps (1995)

DE Troy Wilson (1998)

DT Mike Halapin (1999)

DT Jimmy Verdon (2005)

OT Rob Petitti (2006)

OT Bryce Harris (2012-14, 2017)

OT Kyle Murphy (2021)

OT Jordan Mills (2021)

OT Yasir Durant (2022)

OT Josh Bell (2024)

G/C Luke Fortner (2025)

OT Alex Wollschlaeger (current)

Lou Cordileone was the first to wear 79 for New Orleans. Cordileone had 1.5 sacks and an interception over 24 games in the first two years of the Saints existence. The first New Orleans draft choice to wear 79 was Clovis Swinney, taken in the third round of the 1970 NFL Draft. Sweeney appeared in 14 games as a rookie, but registered no sacks in what would be his only year with the team. He is the highest-drafted New Orleans player to wear a 79 jersey.

We have our first offensive lineman in our uniform countdown with Emanuel Zanders, who made the Saints as a 1974 undrafted rookie. Zanders was a regular starter at right guard for most of his seven years as a Saint. His 87 games with the team are the most of any Saints player who wore number 79 by a wide margin.

Jul 28, 2014; White Sulpher Springs, WV, USA; New Orleans Saints tackle Bryce Harris (79) prepares to block outside linebacker Keyunta Dawson (55) during training camp at The Greenbrier. Mandatory Credit: Michael Shroyer-USA TODAY Sports

Since Zanders, 15 players have worn a 79 jersey for the Saints over the last 45 years. Thirteen of them were with New Orleans for a season or less. Few of them made any kind of significant impact in their short stay. Bryce Harris was the only one of those 15 and only player outside of Zanders of the 18 total players to wear 79 that spent more than two seasons with the Saints. Harris was on and off the New Orleans roster for 37 games, the second-longest stretch of any New Orleans player to wear a 79 uniform.

Luke Fortner was the last Saint to wear 79, splitting the year between that jersey and No. 63 in 2025. After Erik McCoy went down with another season-ending injury, Fortner stepped in to do a serviceable job in his place. Alex Wollschlaeger now gets his chance in the uniform. Wollschlaeger has collegiate starting experience at both tackle spots and could make the roster as a key backup because of that versatility.