There are quite a few reasons to be excited about the New Orleans Saints offense in 2023. There is a new quarterback in the building, Derek Carr, and his arrival has injected life into the fanbase. Carr has been praised by his teammates repeatedly during offseason activities. Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller join Alvin Kamara in the running back room to form a dangerous trio. The pass-catching threats looked stacked at wide receiver between Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Rashid Shaheed and improved at tight end with the addition of Foster Moreau.
From a skill position perspective, there are quite a few reasons to be excited about the New Orleans Saints offense in 2023. The offensive line has the potential to ruin that excitement. They are the make-or-break unit on the offense. Let Pro Football Focus tell it, the front five will break the offense. It doesn’t matter how skilled the weapons are if there isn’t time to throw or holes to run through.
You feel like you trust you’re going to get quality play from Erik McCoy and Ryan Ramcyzk. You’re just looking for them to stay healthy. But you could honestly apply health questions to the whole line. Outside of Ramczyk, who was limited in practice throughout the year, the other projected starters either missed significant time or had a season-ending injury. Even at full strength, this group still has major questions.
There are three pivotal players across the line: Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning. Health isn’t a question for Peat; it’s almost assured he’ll miss at least a couple of games each season. He’s also struggled with inconsistent play at times when healthy. Prior to missing the end of the year, Ruiz had the best season of his career. Penning missed the majority of the year with injuries, so he is just as unknown as he was when drafted.
How those three perform could decide whether this unit makes or breaks the offense. If you can get 2022-quality Ruiz and a relatively-healthy Peat, this unit likely won’t be weak. Trevor Penning’s performance at left tackle will be a deciding factor on whether the unit will be strong instead of just serviceable.
