Wayne Martin – Saints Defensive Lineman of the 90s

Wayne Martin zeros in on the Ravens Vinny Testaverde

As the Saints First Round Draft Pick of the 1989 NFL Draft Defensive End Wayne Martin was expected to make an impact on one of the NFL’s most dominating defenses of that time. The hard-hitting linebackers of the Dome Patrol were just beginning to come into own and along with the veteran lineman like Frank Warren and Jim Wilks, the rookie from Arkansas would need some pretty big plays to fit in.

He made a little noise with 2-and-a-half sacks that first season and by 1990 was a 1st-team starter. And the Saints defense was all the better for it. The early 90s marked a watershed era for the Saints defense as they ranked in the top 10 in just about every major NFL defensive category for that time period. In 1992 the Saints led the NFL in sacks with 57 and Wayne Martin led the Saints with 15-and-a-half sacks. He was a Pro Bowler in 1994 and after 11 seasons in New Orleans he tallied up 82.5 sacks – good enough to still be #3 on the All Time Saints Team Sack Leaders list.

In the picture above, Wayne is barreling down on the Baltimore Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde. That meeting, in 1996, Martin recorded 1 sack – the only by the Saints that day. He would go on to lead the Saints in sacks for the season with 11. In all he was the team’s leading sack man 4 times during his 11-year career.

Wayne Martin’s Career with the New Orleans Saints

	Games	Sacks	Tackles	Asst	Fumbles Forced	Fumbles Recovered	Interceptions	Safeties
1989	16	2.5	18	0	0	2	0	0
1990	11	4.0	30	0	1	0	0	0
1991	16	3.5	22	0	1	1	0	0
1992	16	15.5†	70	0	3	2	0	0
1993	16	5.0	68	0	1	2	0	0
1994*	16	10.0	59	14	1	0	0	0
1995	16	13.0†	64	13	1	1	1	0
1996	16	11.0†	73	15	3	1	0	0
1997	16	10.5†	54	9	1	1	0	0
1998	16	3.0	38	5	0	1	0	1
1999	16	4.5	35	6	0	2	0	0
Totals	171	82.5	531	65	12	13	0	1

* – Pro Bowl

† – Led Team for Year

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Phil

I've been following the Saints since a kid in the 70s watching the likes of Archie Manning and Tommy Myers.
We may not have as grandiose a history as some NFL teams, but there are scores of memories the New Orleans Saints have given to their fans and I have done my best to record them here at New Orleans Saints History.