Grading the Saints 1st Round Pick: Cesar Ruiz

Brendan Boylan analyzes and Grades the Saints selection of Cesar Ruiz for the Saints News Network.

With the 24th Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft the New Orleans Saints select... Cesar Ruiz, Offensive Lineman, Michigan.  Why?

LSU Tigers' LB Patrick Queen was still on the board when the Saints were “On the Clock” past 10 PM CST on Thursday.  For many, it seemed to be an easy decision for the Saints to fill one of their biggest needs in the draft, linebacker.  Instead, the Saints selected Cesar Ruiz who was Pro Football Focus’ top blocking center of 2019 in college football.  The picked shocked most of Who Dat Nation and Saints analysts near and far, myself included.  However, Sean Payton was quick to explain why the Saints chose to bolster their offensive line with Ruiz.

Saints take Michigan OL Cesar Ruiz. Not sexy, but a position they really felt was a need.

Heard it at the combine. Questions about Larry Warford. Even told they'd consider moving Erik McCoy to guard at some point.

All adds up to what I heard back in Indy.

— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) April 24, 2020

"One of the areas we wanted to improve in this draft was interior offensive lineman. Those are hard players to find later in the draft. We had a real high grade on Cesar. He was a guy that I’d say we had a lot of information on,” said Payton.

Despite earning Pro Bowl honors in each of the past three seasons, OL Larry Warford’s starting job is now in jeopardy following the pick of the Michigan man, Ruiz.  Warford is entering the final year of his 4-year, $34M contract with a $13M cap hit this upcoming season.  The 3x Pro-Bowler Warford's play has been in question since the back half of the 2019 season.  Last night's drafting of Ruiz will now position Warford to compete for his starting job after Sean Payton told media last night, “We didn’t draft Ruiz to be a back-up”.

Grading the Pick: 

© Trevor Ruszkowski

To say the pick was a surprise is an understatement. Heading into the 2020 NFL Draft the Saints Offensive Line play in 2019 was viewed as a focal point of the offense and a stable positional group.  New Orleans battled injuries on the offensive line last season though, most notably Andrus Peat who missed extended time with a broken arm suffered against Atlanta.  Depth on the offensive line for New Orleans has not been a major issue either, having multiple lineman capable of playing multiple positions.

"You see this pick was not as far out of left field as many thought."

After the initial shock of the selection it is safe to say the pick was a good one. The Saints have a strong history of building both the offensive and defensive line with high draft picks, as mentioned earlier this week by Saints Reporter John DeShazier. 

Good story from @JohnDeShazier from earlier this week on the #Saints building both lines with high draft picks. https://t.co/T6MlvzKpUc

— DougTatum (@DougTatum) April 24, 2020

With the Saints in a “Win Now” mode as Drew Brees’ final playing days are amongst us, there was a sense Thursday night that grabbing an instant impact playmaker was the route the Saints were going at pick 24.  However, the Saints not only selected an instant impact player but a player to build with after the days of Drew Brees. The Ruiz pick presents an interesting future for the Saints as they gain another versatile athlete who can play multiple line positions (see Peat, McCoy & Ramczyk). Perhaps the plan is to "win now”, keep Brees upright, and give Kamara room to run.  Also, the Saints can continue to build an offensive line that gives confidence to the “bridge” or “heir apparent” quarterback in the coming years.

New Orleans is approaching a difficult offseason in 2021 as the 2017 draft class (Lattimore, Ramczyk, &Kamara) are all due new contracts. Ruiz's versatility on the interior of the offensive line allows New Orleans to part with Larry Warford's $13M cap hit (2nd highest on the team) and replace him a rookie's contract.  Thus, creating cap space to negotiate new contracts with the stellar 2017 Draft class. 

In the past five NFL Drafts, 24 "elite" players have been selected, according to @PFF. The Saints have drafted four of them:

• Michael Thomas
• Alvin Kamara
• Marshon Lattimore
• Ryan Ramczyk

The Chiefs have three (Mahomes, Hill & Jones). No other team has more than two.

— Jeff Duncan (@JeffDuncan_) April 21, 2020

You see this pick was not as far out of left field as many fans have shared. Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis selected a player that, in their eyes, will impact how the Saints offense will be ran for many a year.  The Ruiz selection will all Brees and the next Saints quarterback to have confidence they will stay upright & have time to throw and allowing the Saints backfield to get back to its dominate ways for years to come. 

When you take the shock factor out of the equation, this pick was a good one.

Grade: B+