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Is RT a more pressing need than LT?
Posted on 4/24/24 at 8:43 am
Posted on 4/24/24 at 8:43 am
All of a sudden I have seen at least 3 people in the Saints media world make the argument that RT is possibly a more pressing need than LT, and so they should go with Fuaga or Latham in the draft.
Seemed very...coordinated to all be saying the same thing the week of the draft.
So the question becomes...is that true.
If Ram medically retires, and it really seems to be trending that way, they really have nothing besides Young at RT.
At LT, the argument goes, AT LEAST you have some options. You can resign Peat, you drafted Penning in the first damn round so you can give him all offseason there and try again, you can try Hurst again, you can draft a guy in the 2nd round or move into the 3rd and 4th for options.
But at RT you essentially have no one, or you have to commit to moving Penning (who I think only started like 1 game in college at RT), or Young.
So, does it make sense to target Fuaga or Latham first to fill in at RT, and then figure out LT later?
Seemed very...coordinated to all be saying the same thing the week of the draft.
So the question becomes...is that true.
If Ram medically retires, and it really seems to be trending that way, they really have nothing besides Young at RT.
At LT, the argument goes, AT LEAST you have some options. You can resign Peat, you drafted Penning in the first damn round so you can give him all offseason there and try again, you can try Hurst again, you can draft a guy in the 2nd round or move into the 3rd and 4th for options.
But at RT you essentially have no one, or you have to commit to moving Penning (who I think only started like 1 game in college at RT), or Young.
So, does it make sense to target Fuaga or Latham first to fill in at RT, and then figure out LT later?
3
Posted on 4/24/24 at 8:47 am to Fun Bunch
quote:
At LT, the argument goes, AT LEAST you have some options. You can resign Peat, you drafted Penning in the first damn round so you can give him all offseason there and try again, you can try Hurst again,
I think it will be Peat or Hurst. I don't think Hurst will be as bad in run blocking in this zone system. Kind of like how Fashanu is seen as a fit for our system but not others.
It's clear that Ram is done. He took a big paycut for one more year and is almost certain to retire at some point after June 1. Probably timed for a post June 1 cut in 2025. We can't really cut him or have him retire without our entire cap blowing up in 2025, especially with Latt's likely departure.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 8:51 am to SlowFlowPro
If you don't draft a LT in the 1st (or 2nd round), I think you have to give Penning every opportunity to get that job.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 8:55 am to Fun Bunch
We have a LT on the roster in Penning, a guy that can play LT in Hurst, and Peat as a FA. Assuming Ram can't go, we have Landon Young at RT. Regardless of what you think of Penning / Hurst / Peat, they should all be serviceable at the worst. Landon Young is always hurt and when he has played, he has been a below average player.
RT is absolutely a bigger need right now for us than LT.
RT is absolutely a bigger need right now for us than LT.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:02 am to Fun Bunch
Hard to say. We are completely in the dark on where Penning's development is or isn't and how the Saints view him. And i also think the Saints think pretty highly of Landon Young as well as Nick Saldiveri at RT.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:11 am to Chad504boy
quote:
Nick Saldiveri at RT.
Is this a thing? Seems strictly like an interior guy
I know he played RT in College. Just seems like an interior guy to me in the NFL
This post was edited on 4/24/24 at 9:12 am
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:18 am to Fun Bunch
quote:
Is this a thing? Seems strictly like an interior guy
maybe not but i certainly think he's a guy that has the versatility to do so. his build is nearly identical to ram. if hurst can play tackle then nick can too.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:23 am to Chad504boy
Did he practice at all for us at RT last year?
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:30 am to Fun Bunch
Best available tackle, period. At this point right or left is pretty irrelevant.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:33 am to Fun Bunch
don't know. he had 14 snaps against hou on offense last year. can't remember where he filled in at.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:40 am to bstaceyau19
quote:
Best available tackle, period. At this point right or left is pretty irrelevant.
The situation seems very unsettled for right or left tackle. You take the best available tackle on the board. You don’t get cute. At least one side of the line gets addressed. Then you focus on the other side later in the draft or free agency.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:40 am to Chad504boy
Guard, I believe
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:48 am to Fun Bunch
Udoh Evans Young and Saldiveri have all played RT I think. I think Mr Backup is going on his 11th year and should stay there. Peat is a unknown to us for now at least and Ram looks done for now. I just don't think we can draft too many oline and dlinemen this year
Posted on 4/24/24 at 9:59 am to Chad504boy
Mike D said he was really bad on the snaps he got at RT.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 11:27 am to Fun Bunch
I can definitely see RT being a bigger need than LT because I fully expect Ram to sit on IR this year and retire after 6/01/25. No sources, just think see it as a way for both Ram & the Saints to do each other a solid.
Sitting on IR gives Ram a paycheck, another year registered in the year, free medical for another year before the timed retirement medical ends.
The other side of it is him sitting on IR gives the front office more time to smooth out his cap numbers.
Sitting on IR gives Ram a paycheck, another year registered in the year, free medical for another year before the timed retirement medical ends.
The other side of it is him sitting on IR gives the front office more time to smooth out his cap numbers.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 11:29 am to saints5021
quote:
Mike D said he was really bad on the snaps he got at RT.
maybe but could also play part to where they have had him practicing and training at. Either way, i'm fine with him staying at G, but i hope he can develop into a starter and help the line.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 12:24 pm to saints5021
quote:
We have a LT on the roster in Penning, a guy that can play LT in Hurst, and Peat as a FA. Assuming Ram can't go, we have Landon Young at RT. Regardless of what you think of Penning / Hurst / Peat, they should all be serviceable at the worst. Landon Young is always hurt and when he has played, he has been a below average player.
This is my opinion as well. We also signed Udoh, who is likely a backup, but has played for our offensive staff before. I think the team should have already signed Peat, just to give themselves flexibility. This would let us take a player we see as either a left OR right tackle in the draft, or, if there is a player they highly covet that is a T, they aren't in a rough spot.
I still think there's a decent chance they feel better about the players they have than we do, and they draft someone no one expects tomorrow. Like a corner.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 1:17 pm to Rand AlThor
Honestly think every position on the line aside from center could stand to be addressed. RT LT and LG are pretty much empty as it stands. I wouldn't be mad it 14 and 45 are OT's.
Maybe a miracle happens, both Penning and Saldiveri actually contribute.
*sorry, my response was for the OP, not to Rand's post.
Maybe a miracle happens, both Penning and Saldiveri actually contribute.
*sorry, my response was for the OP, not to Rand's post.
This post was edited on 4/24/24 at 1:19 pm
Posted on 4/24/24 at 1:23 pm to Whodat4300
We need a capable backup center. You don't want to use a starter to fill in. Ruiz is only one I know of that can do it. That's ridiculous.
Posted on 4/24/24 at 1:28 pm to Chad504boy
quote:
Nick Saldiveri at RT.
For some reason, we talk about him as much for the '24 season as I think we should. If he could develop into a starter at either RT or LG this year, that would be so huge.
As far as the OP goes on what is a more pressing need for the Saints in '24, it brings me back to the question I asked in another thread of just how much more important is a LT than a RT in 2024 anyway? I don't think the "blind side" factor matters nearly as much in today's NFL than it did 5-10 years ago. QBs are on the move so much more now, and defenses have no problem moving their edge rushers from the strong side to the weak side and vice versa to take advantage of matchups. Not just week to week, but play to play. I think we remove positional value from the equation and just take the best OT available and figure it out from there.
And is the Washington guy that everybody thinks is so versatile. Only 6'4", so not prototypical OT size, but maybe the best football player of the group and could probably play all 5 positions if needed? Can pass block, run block, and is really smart football wise? If they just love him as a football player/offensive lineman and think he's plug and play somewhere, maybe he's the play. Take him, put him where you'd want him in a perfect world in rookie mini camps/OTAs, but cross train him and move him around based on how Penning, Saldiveri, and Young look like they're developing in the off-season. Or maybe there's a miracle with Ram and he's able to muster up 1 final season?
Like Slow mentioned, Ram's contract is structured to where he can't officially retire until after the '25 season. Even if he/we think he'll never play another down, he has to be on the roster in '24 strictly for dead cap reasons. So what if he and the staff stumble upon some miracle protocol that allows him to actually be a serviceable RT for 1 more season, but we drafted a guy who can ONLY play RT at the NFL level. I know that you're drafting an OT in the top half of the 1st round as a hopeful 8-10 year starter, but it would be devastating for the '24 team if we draft a guy at 14 who can only play RT and he's blocked by an agin Ram literally on his last leg.
Whoever we take there HAS to start in 2024. Even if OP is right that RT is a more pressing need than LT, and I'm right in thinking the positional value of a LT over a RT isn't nearly as much as what it once was, I don't know that we can afford to take a guy that can only play RT. We've got to be versatile enough to be able to move the pieces around that would allow for Saldiveri, Young, or Ram to play RT (if one of the 1st two takes a huge leap in development). So maybe physical and mental versatility is a trait the organization values more this particular year in an OL than previously.
Or maybe I'm just nervous and rambling the day before the draft and am making this way more difficult than it needs to be. Just take the best guy available and figure the rest out later.
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