Pre-draft Colston declared for the 2006 NFL draft. He was tipped in many prospect profiles to become a
tight end, because of his size and catching ability, but was also predicted to go undrafted.
2006 season The New Orleans Saints selected Colston in the seventh round with the 252nd overall pick in the
2006 NFL draft. Colston was the 32nd wide receiver drafted in 2006. He was the seventh player ever drafted out of Hofstra. With Hofstra discontinuing their football program in 2009, Colston became their last player to be drafted from the program. On July 14, 2006, the Saints signed Colston to a three-year,
$1.10 million contract that includes a
signing bonus of $24,600. Throughout training camp, Colston competed to be the third wide receiver on the depth chart against
Devery Henderson,
Lance Moore, and
Terrance Copper. After performing well throughout training camp, head coach
Sean Payton elected to trade starting wide receiver
Donte Stallworth, stating Colston's progress made Stallworth expendable. He made his professional regular season debut in the New Orleans Saints' season-opener at the
Cleveland Browns and made four receptions for 49 yards and scored his first career touchdown. He made his first career touchdown reception on a 12-yard pass by quarterback
Drew Brees during the third quarter. In Week 3, in a game on the road against the
Carolina Panthers, Colston recorded an 86-yard receiving touchdown in the 21–18 loss. The reception was the longest receiving play for the Saints since
Eddie Kennison had a 90-yard play in 1999. He was named the
Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 8. He was named the Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. The following week, Colston made a season-high 11 receptions for 123 receiving yards and one touchdown during the Saints' 31–14 victory at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. Once again, he earned Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for Week 9. In Week 10, Colston recorded 10 catches for a season-high 169 receiving yards during a 38–31 loss at the
Pittsburgh Steelers. His performance marked his third consecutive game with over 100 receiving yards. Colston sprained his left ankle during a Week 11 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals and missed the next two games. Colston finished his rookie season with 70 receptions, 1,038 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns in 14 games and 12 starts. He helped the Saints reach the playoffs with a 10–6 record. The Saints earned a first-round bye with the #2-seed. The Saints defeated the
Philadelphia Eagles in the
Divisional Round and made it to the
NFC Championship Game with the
Chicago Bears. Despite Colston scoring a touchdown, the Saints fell 39–14, ending the team's season. Colston earned a spot on the NFL All-Rookie Team for his immediate contributions. He tied for second in voting for Offensive
Rookie of the Year, behind
Tennessee Titans' quarterback
Vince Young, and with
Jacksonville Jaguars' running back
Maurice Jones-Drew. He had more votes than his fellow rookie teammate, the much more celebrated
Reggie Bush, who was picked second overall by the Saints. Colston was among the
NFC leaders in receptions (70), receiving yards (1,038) and receiving touchdowns (8).
2007 season Against the
San Francisco 49ers on October 28, 2007, Colston caught a career-high three touchdown passes from
Drew Brees and guided the Saints to a 31–10 victory in Week 8. He followed up his three-touchdown performance with three consecutive games going over 100 receiving yards (159, 128, 118). From Weeks 14–17, he recorded five receiving touchdowns in a four-game stretch. For the 2007 season, Colston recorded 1,202 receiving yards and set a team record for receptions with 98, besting the previous mark of 94 set by
Joe Horn in 2000 and 2004. He would hold on to this record until 2011, when Jimmy Graham broke the mark. Colston tied Horn's record for touchdown receptions in a season with 11. Colston would share this mark until 2013, when it was also bested by Graham.
2008 season On July 23, 2008, Colston signed a three-year contract extension with the Saints through the 2011 season. In 2008, Colston suffered a broken thumb after a hit by
Ronde Barber on a quick slant pass in the Saints' Week 1 victory over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This sidelined Colston for four weeks and
Lance Moore moved up into the starting receiver position. In Week 10, he recorded a season-high 140 receiving yards on seven receptions against the
Atlanta Falcons. A few weeks later, he recorded a 70-yard touchdown catch against the
Green Bay Packers as the Saints won the game 51–29 in Week 12. In Week 16, against the
Detroit Lions, he recorded his only multi-touchdown game of the season in the 42–7 victory. Colston finished the season with 47 receptions for 760 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.
2009 season – Super Bowl XLIV Colston found the endzone twice in Week 2 against the
Philadelphia Eagles in the 48–22 victory. During a Week 6 game against the
New York Giants in a battle of undefeated teams, Colston caught eight receptions for 166 yards, as the Saints defeated the Giants 48–27. Overall, Colston finished the 2009 regular season with 70 receptions for 1,074 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns. The Saints finished with a 13–3 record and earned the #1-seed for the NFC playoffs. In the
Divisional Round against the
Arizona Cardinals, Colston had six receptions for 83 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 45–14 victory. Colston started for the Saints in
Super Bowl XLIV. He contributed to the Saints' 31–17 victory with seven receptions for 83 yards against the
Indianapolis Colts.
2010 season Colston remained a consistent producer for the Saints in the 2010 season. In Week 13, against the
Cincinnati Bengals, he scored the late go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds remaining in the 34–30 victory. He recorded three games going over 100 receiving yards and two games with multiple receiving touchdowns. Overall, Colston finished the 2010 season with 84 receptions for 1,023 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns in 15 games played. The Saints returned to the playoffs but failed to repeat as Super Bowl Champions, falling in the
Wild Card Round to
Seattle Seahawks in the
Beast Quake game. In the 41–36 loss, Colston had four receptions for 66 yards. He was ranked 53rd by his fellow players on the
NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.
2011 season Colston continued in his role as a receiving threat for Drew Brees in the 2011 season. He recorded four games going over 100 receiving yards and three games with multiple receiving touchdowns. In the regular season finale in Week 17, he recorded seven receptions for 145 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 45–17 victory over the
Carolina Panthers. Overall, Colston finished the 2011 season with 80 receptions for 1,143 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in 14 games as the Saints won the division with a 13–3 record. Colston set a new franchise record for most 1,000-yard seasons with his fifth, breaking a tie with Joe Horn. Colston, along with Jimmy Graham, gave the Saints their first duo with at least 1,000 receiving yards since
Willie Jackson and Joe Horn in 2001.
2012 season On March 13, 2012, Colston signed a five-year, $40 million contract extension with the Saints. In Week 4, against the
Green Bay Packers, Colston recorded nine receptions for 153 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in a 28–27 loss . On October 7, in Week 5 against the
San Diego Chargers, Colston broke
Joe Horn's record for most touchdown catches by a Saints wide receiver, catching three touchdowns in the game to make 52 for his career. On November 11, in Week 10 against the
Atlanta Falcons, he tied
Deuce McAllister's team record for total touchdowns with his 55th career touchdown. He matched his season-high yardage total of 153 in Week 16 against the
Dallas Cowboys in the 34–31 victory. Overall, he finished the 2012 season with 83 receptions for 1,154 receiving yards and ten receiving touchdowns. Colston, along with Jimmy Graham (982) and Lance Moore (1,041), gave the Saints their first trio of receivers in franchise history to record at least 900 receiving yards each. In the Saints' tenth game of the season, a 23–20 home win over
San Francisco 49ers, Colston passed
Eric Martin to become the all-time franchise leader in receiving yards and yards from scrimmage. In Week 14, he had his most productive game of the regular season with nine receptions for 125 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns against the
Carolina Panthers. Colston finished the regular season with 75 receptions for 943 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games. In the Saints'
Divisional Round playoff game against the
Seattle Seahawks, Colston led all receivers with 11 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown, the touchdown coming with 26 seconds remaining in the game to bring the Saints, who had trailed the entire game, within eight points; he then recovered the ensuing onside kick, giving the Saints a slim chance to tie the game. On the ensuing drive, Brees spiked the ball to stop the clock, then found Colston near the sideline. Instead of stepping out of bounds to stop the clock and give the Saints a chance at a last-second
Hail Mary pass to the end zone, Colston went ahead with the play as it had been called, which required him to throw a
lateral pass across the field to
Travaris Cadet. However, Colston's throw went forward and was ruled an illegal forward pass; the 10-second runoff attached to the penalty used up the clock, sealing a 23–15 victory for the Seahawks.
2014 season Colston recorded two games going over the 100-yard mark in the 2014 season, first in the Saints' regular season opener against the
Atlanta Falcons and later in Week 7 against the
Detroit Lions. Overall, Colston recorded 59 receptions for 902 yards and five touchdowns as the Saints missed the playoffs with a 7–9 record.
2015 season In 2015, Colston caught 45 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns, all career-lows. Part of his statistical decline was due to the emergence of
Brandin Cooks and
Willie Snead as receiving options for Brees to go along with shoulder and chest injuries causing him to miss three games. He was released by the Saints after the season. At the time of Colston's release, he and Brees were the most productive wide receiver-quarterback tandem in terms of passing yards and receiving yards over the decade-long period of 2006–2015, which encompassed Colston's career. Only Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates, a tight end, had more receiving touchdowns in that time span as a duo. Colston was unsigned after the 2015 season. He never released a formal retirement announcement but did acknowledge his retirement in 2020. At the time of Drew Brees's retirement, Colston ended up being the player that he threw the most touchdowns to with 72. ==NFL career statistics==