Saints Draft Outlook: Offensive Tackle

At some point in the draft, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Saints look at offensive tackle as a potential pick.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Apr 21, 2023 1:41 PM EDT

In this story:

We're under a week away from the NFL Draft, and we'll soon know how the Saints plan to address things with a good bit of picks at their disposal. Hopefully, New Orleans will come away with at least two or three impact players for the 2023 season, and we continue to look at each position to assess whether or not they could select someone from there. Today's focus is on offensive tackle, which could make some sense depending on how things play out.

Current Depth Chart: Ryan Ramczyk, James Hurst, Trevor Penning, Landon Young, Storm Norton

Saints Draft Outlooks: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Interior Offensive Lineman

Draft Prospect Outlook

Day 1 Options: Broderick Jones (Georgia), Paris Johnson Jr. (Ohio State), Darnell Wright (Tennessee), Dawand Jones (Ohio State)
Day 2 Options: Anton Harrison (Oklahoma), Matthew Bergeron (Syracuse), Tyler Steen (Alabama), Wanya Morris (Oklahoma), Blake Freeland (BYU), Cody Mauch (North Dakota State)
Day 3 Options: Jaelyn Duncan (Maryland), Braeden Daniels (Utah), Warren McClendon (Georgia), John Ojukwu (Boise State), Ricky Stromberg (Arkansas), Nick Saldiveri (Old Dominion), Mark Evans II (Arkansas Pine-Bluff)
Priority UDFAs: Quinton Barrow (Grand Valley State), Kadeem Telfort (UAB), Demontrey Jacobs (USF), Mason Brooks (Ole Miss), Anderson Hardy (Appalachian State)

THE CASE FOR DRAFTING: Like we pointed out in our interior offensive line outlook, there could be a legitimate path that could make way for drafting another offensive tackle. It would heavily depend on Trevor Penning getting back to full strength and then taking the left tackle spot, which could mean James Hurst could move to left guard. There's nothing set in stone there, but as an absolute worst-case scenario, the Saints draft a tackle to compete for depth.

Saints Offensive Tackle Draft History Since 2017

2022 - Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa (1st Round)
2021 - Landon Young, Kentucky (6th Round)
2018 - Rick Leonard (4th Round)
2017 - Ryan Ramczyk (1st Round)

Not having Zach Strief in the picture certainly brings Kevin Carberry into focus. If things run like they did last year, then he should work exclusively with the tackle group while Doug Marrone works with the interior. Can Carberry pick up where Strief left off with Penning? The other thing to consider with Penning is that he's had two foot injuries now, and he while he's expected to be ready for training camp, the outlook is somewhat cloudy.

THE CASE FOR NOT DRAFTING: This would simply be a case of the Saints being happy with what they have. They could look to add after the draft, mainly through the undrafted pool. However, there are plenty of veteran free agents that are still out there that will undoubtedly find new homes before training camp. Most of those options are in the 30-and-over category.

There shouldn't be any doubts about Ryan Ramczyk. He was frequently on the injury report last season due to rest, but it never affected his work performance. He ended up appearing 16 games and participating in 95 percent of the snaps for the Saints offense. Landon Young has become a valuable asset for the team, and should only be more comfortable going forward. Even if the Saints don't plan on moving anyone and Trevor Penning isn't ready for Week 1 or to take the starting gig at left tackle, then they have James Hurst to anchor the left side.

At the end of the day, investing in the trenches won't be harmful for New Orleans. The question would be when, but the first night doesn't seem likely. Aside 2018, the picks have been pretty good over the past several years.