When Pro Football Focus recently released its center rankings ahead of the 2023 NFL season, Erik McCoy of the New Orleans Saints came in at No. 15 overall. Such a ranking put him directly ahead of Ryan Kelly of the Indianapolis Colts, and right behind Mitch Morse of the Buffalo Bills.
Here’s what PFF’s Gordon McGuinness had to say about where he placed McCoy on the list:
McCoy’s career has been trending in the wrong direction since he posted a 78.0 PFF grade as a rookie, but he is still young enough that he can get things back on track, especially with his past two seasons disrupted by injury.
The Saints have used multiple players as band-aids since McCoy been hurt with the calf injury, including the recent signing of Billy Price. Looking at the full picture here, though, it’s easy to see why some could look at place at 15th overall here as a bit low.
Outside of the injury bug, McCoy has been a highly positive contributor at a position that doesn’t get as much love as it deserves in the first place. Between 2019 and 2020 he started and played in every offensive snap except for six of them.
He was a key element of what was one of the best offensive lines in the NFL in his first two years playing for the Saints, and when he’s been healthy, he’s continued to do a solid job of protecting the quarterback in his own right. How he continues doing just that into 2023 will be something to keep an eye on.
