5 most underappreciated players in New Orleans Saints history

1. Eric Martin, WR (1985-1993)

There have been some great receivers in New Orleans history and the ones that typically come to mind would include Marques Colston, Joe Horn, and Michael Thomas. They each deserve the attention with Colston sitting at No. 1 in franchise history with 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns.

Horn is third in yardage with 7,622 and third in touchdowns with 50 and Thomas is currently four with 6,121 yards and seventh with 35 touchdowns. Although, he's probably first in the number of slant patterns run.

As good as these receivers have been, there's another former wideout that often gets overlooked despite being right there in the record books. Eric Martin, who spent nine seasons with the Saints, had 532 receptions (second in team history) for 7,854 yards (also second), and 48 touchdowns (fourth in franchise history).

When he left the team in 1993, Martin was first in each of these categories and was one of the more consistent players on the franchise during his tenure. He hit 1,000 yards in three campaigns and never had fewer than 552 yards.

He remained effective into his 30s, recording 1,041 yards at the age of 31 and 950 at 32. Martin's finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs but it was during his time in New Orleans when he was at his best.

A former seventh-round pick, Martin was another over-achiever but got nowhere near the recognition he deserved — being awarded just one Pro Bowl nod in his career.

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