Saints have an important position battle that will determine how their season goes

Every offseason, teams have to start all over. Regardless of the success, or lack thereof, in the previous season, every team has to retool their roster in the offseason, then enter the year at 0-0. With the fresh start, many positions are usually up for grabs. Obviously, the status of certain players is cemented, but that’s not the case for everyone.

For the New Orleans Saints, they will have quite a few position battles. The Saints have a ton of established veterans, so several depth chart positions are a forgone conclusion, but not all of them. In fact, New Orleans will have competition at a position that will have a large impact on the team’s season. That’s the offensive line.

Alex Ballentine, in a recent piece for Bleacher Report, named the battles along the offensive line the most important training camp battle for the Saints in 2024. In a way, the outcome of the battles could determine how New Orleans’ season is going to go.

Offensive line named Saints’ most important training camp battle

Ballentine explained how much of a disappointment New Orleans’ offensive line was last season, pointing out that “they were in the bottom eight of both run and pass-blocking grades from PFF.“ To make matters worse, Ryan Ramczyk, the team’s best lineman, is dealing with a knee injury that could keep him sidelined. Additionally, James Hurst retired and Andrus Peat left in free agency.

That all led to the Saints selecting Taliese Fuaga with the 14th-overall pick in the 2024 Draft. Ballentine believes the rookie will hold on to the starting left tackle spot, joining Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz, who return to the starting lineup from last year. However, the left guard and right tackle spots are wide open.

During OTAs, Nick Saldiveri has lined up at left guard and Trevor Penning has been in at right tackle. However, it’s so early in the offseason that the Saints could undergo a few different shakeups before the season arrives. Additionally, the team is still holding out hope that Ramczyk can play this year.

Whatever happens, the eventual starters need to deliver, as they will have a large impact on how the season goes for the Saints. In most cases, a team goes as an offensive line goes. Regardless of how many weapons the Saints have, and whatever cool offense Klint Kubiak is bringing to town, if the line can’t run or pass block, none of it matters. So as New Orleans tries to find its way back to the postseason, everything will start with the training camp battles on the offensive line.

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