The New Orleans Saints mourn the loss of Wayne Wilson, who filled multiple roles for the team in the running game, passing game and on special teams. Wilson passed away over the weekend, at the age of 66.
Wilson was originally selected by the Houston Oilers in the 12th round of the 1979 NFL Draft out of Shepherd University. Joining New Orleans following the preseason, he would go on to play in 102 games for the Saints, carrying 658 times for 2,462 yards with 16 touchdowns, caught 179 passes for 1,517 yards with 14 touchdowns and returned 69 kickoffs for 1,583 yards (22.9 avg.) for 5,544 all-purpose yards. Wilson became the first Saint to surpass 1,000 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards and 1,000 kickoff return yards and the first to have career double-digit totals in both rushing touchdowns and receiving touchdowns.
In a strike-shortened 1982 campaign, the Saints finished 4-5 and narrowly missed the postseason on a tiebreaker, with Wilson carrying 103 times for 413 yards with three touchdowns, caught 25 passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns for a team-high five total scores and returned seven kickoffs for 192 yards.
In 1983, the Saints finished 8-8 and narrowly missed the playoffs as Wilson led the team with 11 total touchdowns. He carried 199 times for 787 yards with a club-best nine touchdowns in the running game for an offense that ranked sixth in the NFL in rushing offense, caught 20 passes for 178 yards with two touchdowns and returned nine kickoffs for 239 yards. In an October 2, 17-7 Saints win over the Miami Dolphins at the Superdome, Wilson controlled the line of scrimmage, carrying 34 times for 160 yards. The following week, New Orleans improved to 4-2 with a 19-17 win at Atlanta with Wilson carrying 18 times for 103 yards (5.7 avg.), catching five passes for 53 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown and returning three kickoffs for 98 yards, including a 52-yard runback for 254 all-purpose yards. With New Orleans trailing 17-16 with 28 seconds remaining, Wilson converted a first down on a five-yard carry, to set up a successful 35-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
