Saints Pass-Blocking Will Be Major Benefit For Derek Carr
Offensive line might be one of the biggest question marks ahead of the New Orleans Saints' 2023 season. While that may not have everything to do with performance, there are still sizable concerns for now. The biggest of which would be health. But it might surprise you to learn that even with the injuries that piled up for the unit last season, the Saints' offensive line was surprisingly solid in pass-blocking. Which may make quarterback Derek Carr's life a bit easier in the Big Easy.
Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy (78) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
In 2022, the Saints were among the bottom of the NFL in sacks allowed with just 38 on the season. That list is topped by the Denver Broncos which allowed 63 and the fewest surrendered was 22 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Carr's Raiders actually gave up fewer than New Orleans with 35 on the season. Despite that, coming in with the twelfth-lowest total is great considering the amount of games missed by New Orleans offensive linemen.
The Saints were without at least one of their starting blockers for 11 of their 17 games last year. That is, if you did not project Trevor Penning to be the starter at left tackle. If you did, then that means that the Saints never fielded their intended starting five at the line of scrimmage for a single game in 2022.
Penning missed Weeks 1-12, starting center Erik McCoy was on injured reserve Weeks 10-15 (Week 14 was the bye), and starting right guard Cesar Ruiz was placed on injured reserve Week 16, ending his season. Add in an additional five games missed by left guard Andrus Peat and it will highlight games in which the team was without multiple starting linemen.
Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, the team's best offensive lineman along with McCoy, navigated injuries throughout the entire season as well. Though he did continuously find his way to the field. As iron a man as the team can ask for on the line.
Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy (78) waits to snap the football against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Even though the team dealt with another slew of injuries in 2022 much like 2021, the team still found a way to be surprisingly stout in protecting the quarterback. In addition to letting up only 38 sacks on the year, they looked to have kept their passers clean in general. Per Pro Football Focus, Andy Dalton was the No. 6 safest quarterback in 2022 among those that saw at least 100 dropbacks. Dalton was kept clean on a whopping 71.6% of his passes.
While the Raiders surrendered 3 fewer sacks than the Saints, Carr felt his fair share of pressure. He was kept clean on just 63.9% of his passing snaps. Carr was under pressure 36% of the time, ranking as the No. 8 most-pressure qualifying passer in 2022.
While these pressure statistics cannot tell the entire story of an offensive line, it is an example of a shift in favor of Carr's transition to the Saints' offense. If he is kept clean in 2023 at a similar rate as Dalton in 2022, it could open up more opportunities for him to take his time picking defenses apart. There are no stats that measure a quarterback's sheer concern around bad play on the offensive line, but it does happen. This kind of mental pressure can force arrant throws, feeling heat that is not actually there and rushing passing attempts ahead of the clock route concepts need to develop.
If the Saints can protect Carr at the rate they did Dalton, which was surprisingly effective from a raw stats perspective, it changes the team's offense drastically. Even more-so, if the group can stay healthy and create continuity over the majority of the season, things could look up even further. New Orleans has a done a ton of work to revamp its roster this offseason, but they will need a healthy and strong offensive line in order to properly maximize their talent.
