Saints Countdown To NFL Kickoff With The History Of Number 66

Saints Countdown To NFL Kickoff With The History Of Number 66 originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Just 66 days remain until the New Orleans Saints start off their 2025 regular season at home against the Arizona Cardinals.  

New Orleans is coming off a 5-12 record in 2024. They'll start this, their 59th NFL season, with Kellen Moore as the new coach on the sidelines. Currently, there is no player on the Saints roster that wears number 66. The last player to don the jersey was offensive lineman Shane Lemieux for seven games during the 2024-25 campaign. 

Here's a list of all the players that have worn this number in Saints history. 

Saints History of 66

• Bill Cody, LB (1968-70)

• Royce Smith, G (1972-73)

• Rocky Rasley, G (1974)

• Tom Wickert, OT (1975-76)

• Conrad Dobler, G (1978-79)

• Louis Oubre, G (1982-84)

• Chuck Commiskey, G (1986-88)

• Larry Williams, G (1991)

• Mike Verstegen, G/T (1996-97)

• Victor Riley, OT (2002)

• Brian Young, DT (2004-08)

• Ben Grubbs, G (2012-14)

• Jordan Mills, OT (2021)

• Forrest Lamp, G (2021)

• Lewis Kidd, OT (2022)

• Shane Lemieux, C/G (2024)

Bill Cody was the first to suit up in number 66 for New Orleans. Cody was with the Saints in their inaugural season of 1967 and remained through 1970. Over those four seasons, he appeared in 40 games and had 1.5 sacks with 4 fumble recoveries. 

Royce Smith was the first offensive player and first New Orleans draft pick to wear 66. He was the eighth overall choice in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft from the Georgia Bulldogs. Smith was with New Orleans for only two seasons, starting 13 of his 24 game appearances. He remains the highest drafted player by the Saints to wear 66.

Two more interior offensive linemen followed Smith in the number 66, Rocky Rasley and Tom Wickert. They played a combined 22 games with 15 starts over three years.

Conrad Dobler earned the reputation of being one of the 'dirtiest' players in NFL history. Two of his 10 NFL seasons were spent with the Saints. The St. Louis Cardinals traded Dobler to New Orleans during the 1978 offseason. 

A knee injury forced him to miss all but three games in 1978, but Dobler rebounded to start all 16 outings at guard in 1979 before being traded again, to Buffalo, during the following offseason.

Lineman Louis Oubre would follow Dobler in 66 three seasons later. The native of St. Augustine high school in Louisiana played collegiately with the Oklahoma Sooners. He returned to New Orleans as a fifth round choice in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Oubre didn't suit up for the Saints until 1982, starting all nine games in that strike-shortened campaign. He'd go on to start all 16 contests in 1983 and five of his 12 game appearances in 1984. In all, Oubre played three years with New Orleans and appeared in 37 games.

Chuck Commiskey was another Saints offensive lineman to suit up in 66. Commiskey also played three years for the team. Over that span, he appeared in 34 games and made 14 starts. After Commiskey, there were three players that wore 66 between 1991 and 2004. Only Mike Verstegen, for 22 games over two seasons, wore the number for more than one year. 

Brian Young arrived to the Saints in 2004 as a free agent. Young is one of only two defensive players to ever suit up in number 66 for the team. He was with New Orleans for five seasons, suiting up in 64 games with 58 starts.

Young had 12 sacks and 20 tackles for loss in his five years with the Saints while forcing or recovering 4 fumbles. His five years and 64 games are more than any other player who has worn 66 for New Orleans. 

In 2012, Ben Grubbs returned the Saints to the string of offensive linemen to wear 66. Grubbs was with New Orleans for three seasons. Over that span, he started all of the team's 48 games and was one of the more respected blockers in the NFL. His tenure with New Orleans was the second longest of any player to wear 66.

After Grubbs was traded away during the 2015 offseason, no other player wore 66 for the Saints until 2021. Over those last four years, linemen Jordan Mills, Forrest Lamp, Lewis Kidd, and Shane Lemieux have all taken turns in the number. None of them lasted the duration of an entire year, combining for 31 games between the four.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.