The New Orleans Saints used to be a force. In the Drew Brees and Sean Payton era, they were a straight-up lock for the playoffs every season, and nobody wanted to face them. In the post-Brees times, however, the team has crumbled behind injury-prone weapons, inconsistent quarterback back play, bad coaching, and their paper-thin offensive line. Today, we’ll look at where the Saints’ offensive line failed in 2023, their changes, and breaking down the New Orleans starting offensive line going into the 2024 season. Without further ado, let’s see if the Saints have the linemen to start a comeback season.
In 2023, there aren’t many positives to recap, but some useful information. According to Pro Football Focus, the Saints were 26th in the league last season in pass protection and 25th in run blocking. Both grades averaged out to 55.2, which is only better than the Jets, Giants, and Jaguars, all of whom made at least a few moves in either Free Agency or the draft to improve. Bad coaching hurt the line, but the personnel wasn’t nearly talented enough to put a dent in even a decent scheme.
At the all-important left tackle spot, the Saints hoped for development from their 2022 1st-rounder Trevor Penning. Instead, he continued to disappoint, being graded in the bottom 10% of all offensive linemen and being injury-riddled at such a young point in his career. More importantly, a midseason switch in the scheme put Penning on the bench after week 6, where he was a relief player more than anything. His replacement at left tackle during those injuries, Andrus Peat, was serviceable but was still 45th-ranked in a sport with 64 starting tackles. Dennis Allen and his staff were out on Penning last year.
The Saints’ best lineman by a country mile was center Erik McCoy, a Pro Bowl replacement after starting every game, hardly missing a snap. He was graded as PFF’s 4th overall center, using his shorter, hefty frame to anchor an offensive line that didn’t give him a ton of help. This lack of help was marcotted by James Hurst and Cesar Ruiz, who were the picture of mediocrity at the guard positions for New Orleans. Ruiz was serviceable in pass protection and will keep his spot on the roster, but Hurst didn’t truly flash at all; he was just an okay stopgap. The ten-year veteran would go on to retire in April.
In my opinion, the poor coaching by Doug Marrone only exacerbated the existing problem, with the 2023 Saints offensive line showing no chemistry or synergy. McCoy is an excellent run blocker, while Penning’s biggest flashes came in run and gap opening. Ruiz on the right guard spot couldn’t set up for the run at all, while the talent of Ryan Ramczyk made the Saints want to run to the right whenever possible. The team attempted to make changes down the stretch, but the effects were minimal, and Derek Carr didn’t have enough time to pull the team out of their tailspin. Synergy sank the Saints’ ship, but let’s look at the chances that they could turn it around going into 2024.
The biggest loss for the Saints’ O-Line was Ryan Ramczyk, the 21st-best tackle in football (9th RT), only allowing four sacks and 25 QB pressures. Unfortunately, due to a knee injury that has lingered since 2021, Ramczyk will be missing the 2024 season. He will be replaced on the strong side by Trevor Penning, who played some right side in college but, in general, will hopefully benefit from a slightly easier assignment.
The most obvious change to the Saints’ offensive line going into a fresh season is the 1st round-draft addition of Oregon State world-beater Taliese Fuaga. Fuaga was a monster, rated as the 5th overall tackle based on the film, but 2nd only to Joe Alt when you factor in the strength of competition. Despite playing his entire college career at right tackle, Fuaga will line up in the left tackle spot for New Orleans, but his raw talent could make up for many of the gaps. As of training camp, Cesar Ruiz is keeping his job as the right guard, and the left guard spot is currently in competition between Nick Saldiveri, a 4th round pick from 2022, and Shane Lemieux, a free agent signed by the Giants.
Regarding depth, who could be key? Lucas Patrick, the former Bear, was brought in to back up McCoy, and Oli Udoh, who played with the Vikings, could back up Fuaga at left tackle. The rest of the depth chart is filled with fringe roster guys, but because of the fluidity of backups like Patrick, I can see the possibility of the Saints only carrying 6 or 7 linemen on their final roster.
The final piece of the Saints’ O-Line puzzle is a pair of new coaches: Offensive Line Coach John Benton, a 19-year veteran coach, and Senior Offensive Assistant Rick Dennison. Dennison has coached 6 Pro Bowl offensive linemen as an o-line coach, and as the senior assistant, he’ll also serve as the run game coordinator. I don’t love the Benton hire, as he was out of the league for a year after a stint with the Jets, but the oversight of Dennison puts my opinion around even going into a fresh season. We’re already seeing both coaches working with Dennis Allen to retool the line to maximize a team that doesn’t have much going for it.
Looking at 2024, it’s pretty clear what would need to happen for the Saints to have a successful season, and a lot of pressure for that is on the offensive line. In the first couple of weeks, the Saints will run up against four excellent pass rushes from the Cowboys, Eagles, Falcons, and Chiefs, and they don’t get a break for more than a week at a time. If Trevor Penning doesn’t finally develop alongside the rookie Fuaga, we might see rookie Spencer Rattler well before we should because Derek Carr will be in the medical tent.
Even if this offensive line can produce at a bang-average level, the question remains whether an aging Alvin Kamara can lead a rushing attack that couldn’t manage much last season. The Saints have an uphill battle to face with a mountain of questions at the offensive line. While it is unlikely the problem will be solved this year, Saints fans would be greatly reassured to at least see signs of improvements.
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