The division rival of the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons, have already suffered a huge blow to their offensive line. Kaleb McGary, their starting right tackle, is done for the season with a leg injury.
It's a huge blow for the Falcons, who, with a left-handed quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., have lost their blindside protector. They've already started their reinforcement efforts, trading for Seattle Seahawks tackle Michael Jerell.
McGary, a Battle Ground, Washington, native, was selected by the Falcons with the 31st overall pick in the 2019 draft. Since then, he has been their starting right tackle, playing in 5,921 snaps, allowing only 42 sacks, and committing 20 penalties. Although he struggled at the beginning of his career, it took off in 2022, when he earned an 86.6 offensive grade on Pro Football Focus. Earlier this month, he signed a two-year, $30 million extension to stay in Atlanta.
How the Saints will be able to take advantage
With the Atlanta Falcons' starting right tackle out for the season, the Saints' pass rushers have the perfect opportunity to capitalize. Carl Granderson and Chase Young, both of whom had a career high in quarterback pressures in 2024, are players for the Saints who should be able to feast on the backup right tackle.
They'll just have to get the quarterback to the ground, which they both struggled with last year despite breaking through the offensive line a ton. Granderson, who had 61 pressures last year, only had five and a half sacks. Chase Young, who had 73 pressures, only had five and a half sacks as well.
Cameron Jordan, who infamously sacked former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan 23 times, is another player that could get his fill. The future hall of famer also knows about the importance of the rivalry. "There's going to be five days of 'Screw them. The coach, the city, and the GM that used to work for us. Everybody's got to get it. And the city feels that," he said on 'Off the edge with Cam Jordan,' when talking about the week leading up to a matchup against the dirty birds.