Best Saints By The Numbers: #45

All summer long, we’re going to list the best players in New Orleans Saints history to wear every number, 00-99.

Yesterday, we did #44.

Today, #45:

The pick: Jack Holmes

When deciding who is the best New Orleans Saints player to ever wear #45, the choice is limited to running backs Jimmy Jordan, Arthur Green, Jack Holmes, Time Wilson, and John Williams, Nate Johnson, and Craig Heyward, and defensive backs Stan Petry and Israel Byrd.

Tough here because it's limited to only three guys (Holmes, Wilson, & Byrd) that wore the number for longer than one year.

We're gonna go with Holmes, a fullback who played five years for the Saints, from 1978-1982.

After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 15th round of the 1975 NFL Draft out of Texas Southern, Holmes was later cut, and was out of football for three years, before catching on with the Saints in 1978.

As a rookie in 1978, through the strike-shortened 1982 season, Holmes rushed 117 times for 393 yards and four touchdowns, while catching 71 passes for 473 yards and one touchdown.

His best season was 1981, when he totaled 194 rushing yards, along with 206 receiving yards.

Of course, being a fullback, the primary job for Holmes was to block, and in 1981 he paved the way for George Rogers to set a team record of 1,674 rushing yards, a mark that still stands to this day.

Holmes played his entire five-year NFL career in New Orleans, as he never appeared in another game after finishing up with the Saints after the 1982 season.

Now 61-years old, the native of Rolling Fork, Mississippi will be remembered by many Saints fans as one of the better blocking fullbacks in the history of the franchise.