6 most disappointing Saints from the first month of the 2021 season

5. Cesar Ruiz

The offensive line in New Orleans has had its fair share of problems this year and injuries are to blame for that. Erik McCoy’s injury in the first week of the season was the first of many dominos to fall here, as it led to Cesar Ruiz getting shifted from right guard to center.

Ruiz actually played center in college so this wouldn’t be a big adjustment, at least you wouldn’t think. Well, it hasn’t gone as smoothly as fans would have hoped, as Ruiz has struggled to be the anchor of the NOLA offensive line.

To this point of the season, Ruiz has a PFF grade of 58.5 and hasn’t made the transition as well as fans had hoped. The good news is that McCoy will hopefully be back soon and then Ruiz can go back to his normal position of right guard.

It’s not easy to jump to different positions along the offensive line and Ruiz has shown just that. The line was in good shape with Ruiz at right guard and that’s been his position of strength so when he moves back there, hopefully all is well with this group once again. It’s been weird seeing the o-line struggle so much.