How the Saints can have a functional offensive line

The concern over the New Orleans Saints offense line has been well-documented.

Ryan Ramczyk is (probably) gone. James Hurst retired. Andrus Peat is a Raider. Trevor Penning is an unknown, as is Nick Saldiveri.

New Orleans has a center, a right guard and a rookie tackle. So the offensive line consists of two known commodities (Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz), one who should probably hit (Taliese Fuaga) and two complete unknowns. The Saints understand this. They've discussed it. And they know it's worrisome until something happens to prove it isn’t.

But screaming about the concern doesn't accomplish anything. So, the questions now are: Can the Saints make this work, and if so, how? We won’t know the answers until the team gets on the field, but let’s examine the scenario that could lead to some affirmative answers since the negatives are already known.

🆕: Where has Saints roster gotten better and worse?- Has anything changed with Ryan Ramczyk?- Would you consider moving Alontae Taylor to safety?📺: https://t.co/TfzT49oWKz pic.twitter.com/6pEj3johOm— NOF (@nofnetwork) May 7, 2024

NFL OFFENSIVE LINES STINK

This feels a little bit like when your parents used to tell you, “Well, if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you, too?” But hear me out.

NFL offensive line play is bad. There might be three good offensive lines in the entire NFL. Everyone else is just getting by. Should the Saints aim to be the best? Of course. But we’re going to frame this conversation about their offensive line as if achieving a level of functionality is at least possible, and we've discovered the bar for getting there is a little lower than we expected.

To set that bar, we turn to Pro Football Focus' grades, which are subjective and shouldn’t be taken as gospel, but still provide a baseline and standardized grading across the board that can at least be used broadly to define good, average and bad.

Looking at these numbers, we found that most teams do not have even three good starters on their offensive lines. Atlanta, Indianapolis and Detroit were the only teams with four starters with grades of 70 or higher. The Lions are the only team with three starters with scores better than 80.

It gets worse. Only seven teams have three starters with a grade better than 70, which means most of the league only employs two good starters, and they’re getting by everywhere else.

So, where does that leave the Saints? If you don’t count Ramczyk, they’re one of 10 teams with only one player above 70 (McCoy). The hope is that rookie Fuaga gives them another. If someone from the mix of Ruiz, Penning, Saldiveri, Oli Udoh and Landon Young gives them one other player with a score of 70-plus, the offensive line situation could officially be considered solid — at least using these parameters.

There are a few ifs and maybes in that consideration, to be sure, but when you look at it that way, the goal of simply being functional doesn’t feel so unattainable.

SHANAHAN STYLE

The funny thing about the Shanahan/Kubiak offense is that while it does a great job of helping running backs find ways to succeed, the offensive line doesn’t have to be great to get the job done.

Kyle Shanahan's 49ers have Trent Williams, Jon Feliciano and a bunch of other guys who have failed to hit the 70 mark on the PFF grading scale. Miami, led by Mike McDaniel, one of Shanahan’s closest disciples, has Terron Armstead and Aaron Brewer. Another Shanahan disciple, Bobby Slowik, produced a powerhouse offense in Houston with Laremy Tunsil and not much else.

The Shanahan/Kubiak offense can hide flaws. Another way to look at it: In this scheme, the unit can be greater than the sum of its parts. How a team builds the running game helps, too. But some things can be done to alleviate pressure from the line, and this offense does it well.

Alvin Kamara over/under 800 rushing yards?We give our rushing yard predictions for the Saints in 2024📽️: https://t.co/y1azIGGGCaFull Episode: https://t.co/3T7aGgFViC pic.twitter.com/bTQp4RXLco— NOF (@nofnetwork) May 7, 2024

The scheme also likes to make things easy on the offensive line on first and second down. Miami had the fewest seven-step drops on first and second down (52), while the 49ers had the fourth fewest (90).

The Saints actually did OK in this area last year (111), with the eight fewest. And that’s why the team ranked well in pressures and sacks allowed last season.

But the type of plays being called also matters, and the 49ers and Dolphins did a great job of using the quick game on first down. Miami had an average time to throw of 2.23 seconds on first down, while the 49ers were at 2.63. The Dolphins’ time was the fastest in the league, while San Francisco ranked fifth.

If you remove play-action attempts, Miami averaged 1.82 seconds per pass on first down and San Francisco dropped to 2.32. The Saints weren’t far behind at 2.37.

The Saints can help hide some of their line's deficiencies by leaning more into these ideals. We saw the impact of quick passing on this offense during the later stages of the Drew Brees era. For several years, the Saints cycled in backup offensive linemen, but there was no discernible impact on the offense because Brees was getting rid of the ball so quickly.

That's an approach worth trying to replicate this season.

Where has Saints roster gotten better and worse? https://t.co/QME7gWh4Oh— NOF (@nofnetwork) May 7, 2024

CAN IT BE FUNCTIONAL?

Peat is gone, so it’s time to get to know the other candidates who can fill the open vacancies, presumably at left tackle and left guard, though it's possible Fuaga will play left tackle.

Saldiveri has the athletic profile that says he should excel in this offense and will be able to slide in at left guard and lock that job down. However, he didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie last year, in part due to injuries.

Penning is a total unknown. He has the talent to play in the NFL, but the demands of the job haven’t clicked for him, and he’s struggled to pick up the scheme and responsibilities his duties require. Can a new coaching staff help him?

Udoh appeared in 43 games for the Vikings over the past five seasons, starting 18. He’s played the bulk of his snaps at right guard but has also slid in at left tackle and right tackle. He’s never played left guard, but that certainly shouldn’t be a problem, given his flexibility.

Young has only played tackle for the Saints, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he competes at guard, too. He has the flexibility to play all over the line.

None of those players are guaranteed. And if they don't work out, the Saints have had success finding functional offensive linemen late in the process. James Hurst and Max Garcia were both late additions. If two players at that level are your starting left tackle and left guard, it would be cause for concern, but New Orleans probably could squeak by with them if everything else is operating at a high level.

So here's the question that will define the season: Can the Saints get Fuaga up to a “good” level, elevate Ruiz and find two functional starters? That’s still tough to say, even when painting with an optimistic brush. But the path to success might not be as steep as it seemed once you clear the weeds and see the way.