Marques Colston (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
Marques Colston is one of the best players in recent memory for the New Orleans Saints.
The former 6-foot-5 wide receiver was Drew Brees’ favorite target during his first few seasons in New Orleans, with Colston leading the team in receiving in five of seven seasons from 2006 until 2012. It was also during Colston’s tenure in New Orleans (2006 until 2015) that the Saints had their greatest period of success, winning their first (and only) Super Bowl while advancing to the playoffs in five of those seasons.
Saints in Transition
Since the retirement of Brees and the departure of head coach Sean Payton, the Saints have had difficulty replicating that level of success. New Orleans hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2020 season, and they haven’t won a playoff game since the 2018 season. They have posted a losing record in three consecutive seasons.
The Saints are in their first season with Kellen Moore as the head coach. Colston says New Orleans is still trying to find their “identity” and that there’s a “transition” in place. The Saints also entered the season with Spencer Rattler as the starting quarterback for the first time after Derek Carr had served as the franchise QB for a number of years.
With that being said, the Saints do have a number of veterans such as Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara, and Chris Olave who are looking to win right now. The problem is, New Orleans isn’t exactly built to do that. The team recently won its first game, a 26-14 victory over the New York Giants.
“I think it’s a team that’s very much still finding their identity,” says Colston in a one-on-one interview with RG. “There’s so much transition. You got an offense coordinator as a first-time head coach. He’s trying to find his identity as a play caller and as a leader. You got some of those younger players that are just trying to figure out who they are in the league. On top of that, you got some of the veteran players that are kind of that staying force in that that they’re kind of that steadying anchor.”
“They know who they are, and they have this standard that they want to play at,” Colston continues. “I think as long as the younger guys can continue to play to the standard of the Cam Jordan’s, the Alvin Kamara’s, the Demario Davis’s. I think as long as that kind of becomes that North Star, that standard becomes the North Star, they’ll continue to get better. They’ll continue to improve. Once you start to build that momentum, you’ll start to see the winning stack over time.”
Colston details how big a win it is for the Saints, saying it “validates” the work they’ve put in. It wasn’t just New Orleans’ first win, it was also Rattler’s first as a starting quarterback after losing his first 10 starts.
“I think they are in a position, once you get that first win under your belt, it kind of validates the work that you put in,” says Colston of the Saints. “Hopefully for those guys, there’s a level of confidence within the building that kind of them to continue to permeate and continues to create momentum. With a team like this, a young team like this that’s in a massive transition from coaching staff to new players to young players, I think the staying power vets like Demario Davis and Cam Jordan kind of give them a foundation to continue to build on, win or lose.”
“They’re in a position now where the first win under their belt, they’ve got a little momentum, and it’s just a matter of trying to continue to keep it going,” Colston continues to say.
“Continuing to find those different, those minute areas that you can continue to improve, because that’s the margin for error in a league like this.”
Rattler’s Chance to Prove Himself
It’s unclear who the Saints’ long-term answer at quarterback. Rattler is the starter right now, but Tyler Shough was selected with a second-round draft pick with the expectation that he’d be the starting quarterback this season and moving forward. However, plans didn’t exactly turn out that way, and Rattler won the starting job.
Colston defends Rattler earning the QB1 job, saying he didn’t exactly get to prove what he had last season with New Orleans not having a lot of healthy starters.
“Spencer really didn’t get an opportunity to show what he had, show what he could do with a starting unit,” says Colston. “He’s played pretty well over these first handful of weeks, and it hasn’t necessarily showed up in the win column, but he’s playing winning football. It sounds funny, but the No. 1 objective in winning is, don’t lose, right? He’s not turning the ball over, he’s making good decisions. Sometimes the decision is, get to fourth down and punt. He’s playing winning football, and I think he’ll just continue to build momentum. He’ll continue to build confidence. As he builds confidence, the guys around him will continue to make plays.”
The 42-year-old former wide receiver says that as long as Rattler continues to win games, he’ll remain in the starting lineup. The Saints will host the New England Patriots in Week 6 before playing the Chicago Bears in Week 7.
“This is what I know about the league, winning always buys you time,” says Colston. “Winning buys you time, and winning buys you grace. As long as he continues to play winning football, and the team continues to get better from week to week. Only they know if they’re truly improving. Because we don’t, all we have to go on is the box score and the win and loss column. But inside that building, they know if they’re a better team and going into Week 5 than they were starting Week 1. As long as the feeling inside the building is there on the upswing, and their trajectory is taking them to a higher level, then I think he’s earning the right to continue to show what he can do.”
When the player comparison for Rattler of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia is brought up, Colston says he “likes” that comparison. Garcia wasn’t the biggest quarterback at 6-foot-1, but he had solid mobility and was scrappy. He went to four Pro Bowls and rushed for over 300 yards in a single season on three different occasions.
“I hadn’t heard Jeff Garcia in a while, but I really like that comp,” says Colston of Rattler. “I think the thing that I like about him, just from afar, is that he plays with a grit that he’s putting on the line for you. As a teammate, when you see somebody that’s going out and they’re making gritty plays, they’re putting their body on the line, and they’re making winning plays, it makes you elevate your game. Because you just want to make plays for somebody that’s playing at that level.”