As the 2011 NFL draft approaches, it is important to understand where the Saints stand at each major position group. After making our way through a stacked offense with relatively few needs, it is time to look at a group that is likely to receive serious consideration come draft day: the offensive line.
As was previously stated on this blog, the Saints offensive line is an area of relative strength, but it is one that with one weak link can quickly become an area of weakness. NFL GMs would tell you that you can never have too much depth on your offensive line (or anywhere, really), and while the Saints current starters all fall somewhere in the range of adequate NFL starter to superstar, the Saints are a serious injury away from putting the health of both Drew Brees and the running game in serious jeopardy for 2011.
The Saints head toward 2011 with sixty percent of an offensive line intact. The organization proved they were serious about their O-Line in 2010 with their mammoth seven-year contract for G Jahri Evans, making him the highest paid interior lineman in the NFL, which came only a year after locking up RT Jon Stinchcomb through 2013. C Jonathan Goodwin enters the final year of his deal in 2011, and an extension may be something to look out for once the NFL labor situation is resolved.
G Carl Nicks is headed to free agency, but with just three years of experience under his belt, he has earned only restricted status. He was tendered at the first-round level, making it highly unlikely for Nicks to be in any uniform other than the Saints in 2011. Still, the Saints have one of the premier guard tandems in the NFL in Nicks and Evans and would be wise to keep it that way via a contract extension for Nicks.
While Nicks’ contract status is important moving forward, the story to watch for Saints fans this offseason is the left tackle situation. This is a position that has been in flux really since the end of 2008. At that time, LT looked like the Saints most stable o-line position with Jammal Brown’s pro bowl play speaking for itself. When Brown went down with hip and groin injuries before the 2009 season began, it looked like disaster had struck. The Saints tossed seldom-used reserve lineman Jermon Bushrod into the mix at LT, and, well, the rest is history.
While Bushrod performored beyond expectations in 2009, a closer examination reveals that he really had a lot of help. The offense was so efficient that year that it often went unnoticed that in addition to Bushrod, the Saints used a formation that essentially had two LTs a lot of the time, using Zach Strief to supplement the protection provided by Bushrod. When Strief wasn’t on the field, TEs Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas often picked up the slack.
With the running game working as effectively as ever, the the number of blitzes from opposing defenses diminished, and the Saints offense got into a virtually unstoppable state of run-pass equilibrium.
Enter 2010, and things changed a little. All three starting RBs (Lynell Hamilton, Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas) went down with injuries, and opposing OLBs and DEs bore down on Bushrod on the left side. Brees was under constant pressure, and his career-high 22 interceptions came as a result.
None of this is to say that Bushrod is a bad player. His contributions in 2009 were a big part of the Saints Super Bowl run, and there were far worse LTs in 2010. However, for the Saints offense to really be at its best, it needs an LT that can control the left side by himself.
At pick number 24, the Saints should have options here. In a draft that is stacked (and I mean stacked) with defensive line talent, the Saints are likely to look for a pass-rusher or a run-stuffing defensive tackle to pair with Sedrick Ellis on the interior of the D-line. The Saints have 2010 draft pick Charles Brown waiting to move into the rotation, but for the sake of discussion, let’s say the Saints want to go LT in the first round. It is, after all, a pretty bad idea in the NFL draft to pass up top talent when it’s there, and the Saints have been known to take the “best player available” approach on draft day.
Todd McShay’s latest mock draft has all four premier offensive tackles (USC’s Tyron Smith, Boston College’s Anthony Castonzo, Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi, and Colorado’s Nate Solder) off of the board by the 24th pick, but the Saints wouldn’t have to move up far to grab Solder, Carimi, or Castonzo if that is the direction they decided to go. Mel Kiper’s latest mock has three out of the four tackles gone (all but Solder), but Castonzo and Carimi going at 22 and 23. The Cowboys are likely to take an OT at number 9 (USC’s Tyron Smith, according to both McShay and Kiper), but the other three are likely to go in the 15-25 range. The Saints don’t have a lot of late round picks to leverage in round 1, but it would probably be possible to move up a couple of spots by trading first and third rounders with a team that thinks it can get what it wants at number 24 instead of, say, number 21-23.
Realistically, the Saints are probably going to go defense with their first pick in the draft. As a restricted free agent, the Saints tendered Bushrod at the second-round level for the second consecutive year, making it unlikely for him to be gone in 2011. The Saints best course of action would be to draft an OT in the second or third round that they can develop into a future left tackle–perhaps Villanova’s Benjamin Ijalana, or TCU’s Marcus Cannon if he is still on the board in round 2–and let that player learn from Bushrod for a year before hopefully moving into a starting role.
