The New Orleans Saints are entering the first year of the Kellen Moore experiment after he was hired to be the next head coach of the team. With Derek Carr riding off into the retirement sunset, the Saints have a lot of uncertainties ahead of them this year.
Somehow, even with the quarterback question marks in New Orleans, the biggest question for the Saints in 2025 is still the offensive line, at least according to Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus. Locker said that the Saints "must decide how it wants to structure its offensive line, which ranked 30th in PFF pass-blocking grade last season."
Locker continued by explaining that Taliese Fuaga will likely earn one of the starting tackle spots. He pointed out that the remaining spot will go to either former first-round pick Trevor Penning or first-round rookie Kelvin Banks Jr. Locker then brings up an interesting scenario for whoever loses the competition. This could be a good thing for New Orleans, as it means the Saints have a lot of moving pieces that are hopefully capable of starting wherever the team puts them.
"Whoever loses the right tackle job will likely slide to left guard, but that’s no easy maneuver. No matter what, New Orleans needs to find the proper alignment to help Shough, the favored starter, in his inaugural season."
Saints’ most urgent problem isn’t at QB — it’s the offensive line
One would think that with Carr retiring, quarterback would have been the Saints' biggest issue but they've struggled to put together a solid offensive line since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season. If the offensive line can't be even average, it's going to be hard for Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, or whoever is starting at quarterback do anything when they drop back to pass.
The hope is that with the Saints continuing to invest in the o-line in the first round, that the unit will come around and better. They've now spent first-round picks on offensive linemen in three of the last four drafts, snagging Penning in 2022, Fuaga in 2024, and Banks this year. Penning's fifth-year option was not picked up so this is do or die for the former UNI star.
If the Saints want Shough to succeed and be their starting quarterback for the foreseeable future, the offensive line has to be better. Hopefully, the Saints can figure out a formation that works and ensure that their starting quarterback, whoever that might be in 2025, is kept upright throughout the season.
The good news is that more depth means if one strategy isn't working, the Saints can try something else. Hopefully it's not needed but that is something to keep in mind as far as optimism goes in this situation.