The New Orleans Saints offensive line took a hit last week, losing center Erik McCoy to a biceps injury. Now with a patchwork interior-OL that includes Cesar Ruiz at center and Jeremiah Wright at right guard, the team is set to face a gauntlet of defensive tackles to face in the coming weeks.
First up will be Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who is a run-defense monster. Fourth among all DTs there with a PFF grade of 84.7, the Saints have to keep an eye out for him on every running play if they want running back Travis Etienne to have a chance at staying on the field this time. At least his pass-rush numbers have been modest this season, with only 15 pressers and zero sacks.
After Brown is Jeffery Simmons, a pass-rusher who's been on a tear with his new team, racking up 10 tackles, two sacks, and one pass defended in his two games as a Chicago Bear. After him is Dexter Lawrence of the Cincinnati Bengals, who is PFF's top-graded pass rusher among all DTs with a grade of 89.5, leaving no breather in the next three games. It's a big battle coming up for David Edwards, Ruiz, and Wright, who will have the job of protecting Tyler Shough from some of the NFL's best DTs.
The Saints' offensive line will be shuffled for a few weeks
The word from Saints head coach Kellen Moore is that McCoy should only miss "a little bit" of time, leaving Ruiz as a stopgap rather than a permanent/long-term change. It's nothing new for him, as it was his position coming out of college, where he was one of the highest graded centers heading into the 2020 draft. With only four starts and a few practices at the position since getting drafted, Ruiz has called this opportunity exciting, rather than anything else.
Fourth-round rookie Jeremiah Wright will get a baptism by fire these next few weeks. Not doing well the last time out in Paris, he's now set to face three players who have a combined eight pro bowl appearances. But despite the poor performance, Wright has still shown flashes of being a quality guard and brings enough energy to the field that he could power a small town.
But the patchwork O-line should still be able to hold the line, especially given that Carolina's run defense is the fifth-worst in the entire NFL, which gives them a path to keeping Shough off the ground while giving him another weapon. From there New Orleans would need to keep their run offense going, because then they could use some play action to keep Simmons and Lawrence off their toes.
Sitting at 3-5 heading into this three-game stretch, the rest of November could make or break the Saints season. They're already just one win away from being atop the NFC South, giving them a chance to get ahead of the division while they still can.
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