Here’s a look at the best skill for the top tackles the Saints could draft at No. 14
The New Orleans Saints will likely draft an offensive tackle with the 14th-overall pick, so here’s a look at where some of the top tackles excel.
The 2024 NFL Draft is just a couple of weeks away, and the plan for the New Orleans Saints seems clear. With the 14th-overall pick, New Orleans will draft an offensive tackle. While there will be elite pass catchers and defenders available at 14, it’ll be borderline irresponsible for the Saints to draft a position other than tackle.
As things currently stand, New Orleans could be without both of its starting tackles from last season. Andrus Peat is a free agent and Ryan Ramczyk is dealing with a knee injury that could keep him sidelined for the 2024 season. The Saints do still have Trevor Penning, but he was pulled from the lineup this past season. There’s no telling if he will take the necessary steps to be a starter next season.
With that being New Orleans’ reality, the team has to take a tackle in the first round. The only question is which? Fortunately, this is an extremely talented tackle draft class, so it could be hard for the Saints to make a wrong pick. However, all of the top tackles exceed at different things. Bleacher Report’s scouting department broke that down in a recent piece, highlighting the biggest strengths of top tackles and the teams that they’ll be a fit for.
Let’s take a look at the strengths of the tackles that have been linked to the Saints.
Top strengths for Saints’ tackle option
Olu Fashanu, who many consider the second-best tackle in the class behind Joe Alt, has been linked to New Orleans in several mock drafts. Additionally, Bleacher Report also named the Saints as a fit for the Penn State tackle. As far as what he excels at, his pass set was highlighted. His seemingly natural ability in pass protection is why several scouts say he is ready to start from day one.
Washington’s Troy Fautanu is another prospect that is projected to get selected in the range of the Saints’ No. 14 pick. He’s also one of the players that New Orleans is listed as a fit for. Fautanu played for the pass-heavy Washington Huskies, so he spent a lot of time in pass protection. That allowed him to show off his hands, which is considered his best asset.
The final prospect on this list that the Saints are considered a fit for is Cooper Beebe. Bebe is actually a guard, not a tackle, but he’d be a great addition in New Orleans nonetheless. Out of Kansas State, Beebe’s strength is his gap-blocking in the run game. Considering that New Orleans needs to improve its rushing attack, he’d be a great day-two selection.
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