How does the news about Ryan Ramczyk's injury affect the Saints’ draft strategy?

At the NFL league Meetings, New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared some concerning news surrounding the health of former All-Pro right tackle, Ryan Ramczyk. It was previously known that Ryan Ramczyk was getting offseason surgery to try to fix an issue in his knee, unfortunately, the recovery isn’t going as well as the team hoped according to Dennis Allen. This has major implications for the NFL Draft, which is in less than a month.

Hopefully, Ramczyk will be ready for the start of the season. That isn’t out of the picture. Regardless, the Saints must pick up at least one tackle in this year’s draft. Luckily for them, this tackle class has the most talent in recent memory. At pick 14, options such as Taliese Fuaga, Olu Fashanu, and Troy Fatanu would all work perfectly.

Even if New Orleans decides to wait, they could find players such as Kiran Amegadjie or Kinglsey Suamatai at pick 45 and Roger Rosengarten in the fifth round. All of these options would dramatically improve the line.

Saints have to address the offensive line in the NFL Draft

In addition to right tackle, left tackle and guard should be addressed. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Saints to double down on offensive linemen now. They need the depth and the player they pick would come in and compete for a starting spot. The Saints have already signed former Minnesota Vikings right tackle, Oli Udoh. This isn’t an instant fix but he does provide solid depth for the tackle position, which is desperately needed. 

The Saints need to focus on finding a long-term replacement for Ryan Ramczyk, even if he does have a season where he doesn’t miss a significant amount of time. When he is on the field he is a beast, it’s just staying on the field for him. In this year’s NFL Draft, picking at least one offensive lineman is necessary for the Saints to remain competitive.