papz

No. 10: WR Marques Colston (-4 from 2012, 3-time list member)

Receiver Marques Colston has been in the NFL for seven seasons, has recorded 1,000 yards in six of those years, is tied for most catches in Saints’ history with 532 and owns the franchise record for career touchdowns with 58.

And he hasn’t been to a Pro Bowl.

But hey, the WWLTV.com 10 Indispensable List is something, right?

Colston may be getting older, but his game remains steady. As a co-worker recently said about Colston, he’s like Linus’ blanket for quarterback Drew Brees. He doesn’t always search out Colston, but when he does, it’s usually a big play because he knows the receiver will be there willing to take a big hit and still make the catch.

His most recent campaign was one of his best yet.

In 2012, Colston led the team with 1,254 receiving yards – good for 13th in the NFL – and 10 touchdowns. A quarter of his 84 catches were on third down and 65 of his catches went for first downs, tied for 17th in the league for total first downs.

Because someone usually steps up, you can make a case that the way the Saints’ offense runs, it does so fine as long as Brees is around. But that's necessarily true. Without Colston, it doesn’t generally run as smoothly.

Pro Football Focus rated Colston as the NFL’s ninth-best receiver in 2012 with a 101.8 rating for those with a 50 percent thrown at rate. And though his eight drops were near the bottom of the league, his drop rate (8.79) was among the top 15 in the league among receivers.

The best part about Colston is his veteran leadership in the locker room. He’s quiet but productive. He’s low-key but high character. And he’s signed through 2016.

Read more: WWLTV.com's 10 Indispensable Saints 2013 | wwltv.com New Orleans

Attached Thumbnails

 

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.