Saints Training Camp Preview: Interior Offensive Line

The interior offensive line is one area for the Saints that brings some major question marks going into training camp.

Today is the day. The Saints are officially back in action at training camp on Wednesday, and we couldn't be more excited. Over the next several weeks, we'll get to learn more about Dennis Allen's new team and how they stack up to the competition. Overall, it's been a pretty good offseason with many surprises. We give you one more camp outlook before the bell, focusing on the interior offensive line.

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Saints Training Camp Outlook: Interior Offensive 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

Depth Chart: Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Andrus Peat, Alex Pihlstrom, Andrus Peat, Lewis Kidd, Nick Saldiveri, Mark Evans II, Trai Turner, Max Garcia

The Saints did some shuffling on Tuesday, adding five-time Pro Bowler and hometown native Trai Turner along with the versatile Max Garcia. If the season were to start today, you'd easily say that the starting interior would be Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, and Cesar Ruiz. McCoy feels like he's severely underrated, but that could be because of him battling injuries over the past two seasons. Ruiz enters a contract year, while it also appears to be the last ride for Peat.

Overall, this group has potential, but there are some concerns on the durability and outlook for the interior. Here's the storylines to follow during training camp.

What's the Injury Plan?

It's hard to look at this group's outlook and be optimistic about them going a full 17 games plus playoffs. Unfortunately, Andrus Peat has never been through a full season since being drafted in 2015. For Ruiz, he really came into his own last year after shaking off a mixed couple of first seasons. Dennis Allen said that additions of Turner and Garcia were not because of the health of these two, which is encouraging.

New Orleans has ran through plenty of looks on the offensive line over the past two years, and it's probably going to be something similar this year. It's just a matter of when, not if. The backup plans have to be in place and be stronger than ever to help protect Derek Carr and not allow the run game to fall off.

Can the Rookie Rise?

There's a lot of good things we expect out of rookie Nick Saldiveri. He recently passed his physical after having to sit out some OTAs and minicamp with a calf injury. He got some work at the Senior Bowl as a center, so that's something to pay attention to as camp progresses. However, he is someone who can go all over the line. We anticipate him on the interior as a guard to start out. He's a focused and determined player that could certainly make things interesting for this group.

On Notice

Dennis Allen emphasized competition more than a few times when he spoke with the media on Tuesday. It's going to be at multiple positions for the Saints, and the interior is included there. The team has benefitted from undrafted rookie products like Calvin Throckmorton and Lewis Kidd stepping up to the plate to make the roster and actually fill in as starters more than a few times. The depth is going to be challenged and may see some major shakeups, but I wouldn't stop there. Everyone is going to have to put their best stuff out there with a team that is desperate to get back into the postseason.

The Jahri Evans Impact

New Orleans has one of the best to help teach their group of young players in Jahri Evans. Naturally, he's a part of things, as Doug Marrone heads up the coaching for the offensive line with Kevin Carberry serving as an assistant. However, one of the things we saw last year during camp was how things were divided up between the coaches to get granular. Evans could really help some of these players, and we're eager to see what happens with him on the staff.