NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks shared his first mock draft for the 2024 offseason, and he has the New Orleans Saints making a popular pick in the first round: Alabama right tackle JC Latham.
“The Saints’ uncertainty at offensive tackle could lead the team to take another player at the position in Round 1,” Brooks wrote. “Latham is a massive brawler with the strength, power and length to punish defenders in the run game.”
Latham has played exclusively on the right side at Alabama (taking about a hundred snaps at guard in his freshman year before moving to tackle full-time), but he was the nation’s top prospect at left tackle in high school, and it’s possible he could move back to the left side as a pro.
The Saints could use his help at either spot. Ryan Ramczyk is expected to return and start at right tackle but a degenerative knee condition has been a major problem for him. Trevor Penning is going to get another shot at winning the left tackle job (and holding it down) but the Saints can’t assume he’ll run away with it. It would be worth seeing if Latham is open to playing inside at guard, too. New Orleans’ offensive line has fallen off hard in recent years and a high-end pickup like Latham could go a long way for them, no matter where he’s lining up.
