The Wright pick

From what Moore has stated they like Simpkins III as back up center. HE never played it in college but in preseason got some reps and showed a lot of promise. When called on last season he played his reps at guard but Moore again said when Fortner left that they liked what Simpkins did at center when he had the chance and they felt good about him there.

Wright will push Ruiz out of the starting lineup completely.

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I like the Wright pick for the upside, but he’s developmental as a pass protector. As much as I want Ruiz gone, I don’t know that he pushes Ruiz out right away………MAYBE by the end of the season or next year.

He looks like a stud in the run game though. He is really the only pick, where I would have maybe rather a finished product……..but I am still high on the pick due to the upside.

I probably wanted more of a finished product based on my dislike of Ruiz

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Was hoping for Pregnon in the 3rd.

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I like the Wright pick for the upside, but he’s developmental as a pass protector. As much as I want Ruiz gone, I don’t know that he pushes Ruiz out right away………MAYBE by the end of the season or next year.

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Likely so however, Ruiz's pass pro is arse too, and IMO as long as it isn't a down grade, meaning Wright can come in at some point and play at least to the level of Ruiz I think they get Ruiz out of the way from Wrights progress. Wright has much more potential, Ruiz is what he is and you can tell by Mickey's comments that he ( or they) are at the end of their rope with him. I wouldn't expect Ruiz to be on this team in 2027.

Agreed, no way he's on the roster in '27, Wright will go into '27 as the starter, they may bring in IOL competition but Ruiz will be gone in '27

Wright is a backup. We will grab a true starting RG next year with the 32nd pick.

It also gives us an extra mauler of a lineman on goal line situations.

I don't think Ruiz will be beaten our right away. But it seems pretty clear the Saints are placing a lot of emphasis on being able to run the ball this year (Eitenne signing, multiple TEs, etc). So they may be willing to live with a bit of growing pains in pass protection if it translates into more production running the ball. With Sough being only a second year player without even a full 17 games of starting experience, it could be that Moore wants to operate the offense like he did with the Eagles in 2024. Run the ball a ton to set up plays to allow Shough to stretch the field (which seems to be his strength). Much like Hurts did in 2024.

In other words, Wright was a pick with a purpose. He may not fit every team's approach. But he may be really good in the approach the Saints want to take

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Likely so however, Ruiz's pass pro is arse too,

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Do you have stats to back this up or are we just throwing shite at a wall? That was rhetorical.

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"Ruiz earned a 73.1 pass-blocking grade (ranking 13th among 81 qualified guards) and allowed only 19 total pressures—including 3 sacks and 2 hits—across 856 offensive snaps. This success translated to a top-6 pressure rate among starting right guards

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Ruiz could play mediocre this year and Wright could either replace him next year or suck and we are back to square one.

OR Ruiz could get back to 2024 levels and the melts on here would be hilarious when we extend him 3-4 years.

Wright is battling Radunz for the backup OG1 spot.

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but if you haven't picked up on the staff and GM, they are very disappointed in Ruiz and his spot in wide open for challengers

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Actually, I haven't. Is there proof of this? From what I've seen the FO likes Ruiz and believes he can get back to top form.

We didn't draft a 4th rd OG to replace the 1st rd pick that can start at both C/OG who happened to have a bad season coming off a top 30 season...

We would have drafted that guy in the 1st-3rd. The second we didn't do that it pretty much confirmed we are rolling with Ruiz.

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but lets not kid ourselves, Ruiz's peak form was less than expected from a 1st round draft pick 

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Yes this is true but he was a Top 30 OG in 2024 and 13th/ 81 in Pass pro last year. Lets not kid ourselves, the dude is a mid level starter at worst and isn't nearly as bad as fans make him out to be.

We are talking about a 1st rd OG who at worst is middle of the pack as our #5 OL. Our #5 OL was #13th in pass protection and we think this isn't acceptable. Would (5) all pro OL satisfy? Ruiz would be starting for most NFL teams if we let him go.

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Yes there is.

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The only thing publicly said was that Loomis "expects more from him".

And then people claimed that a mid 4th rd OG was drafted to compete/ replace him after passing up on the Top 30 OL. Which doesn't add up if the need is that big.

That's just not how it works, wishful thinking at best. Its more likely that Ruiz sucks and Wright is still worse > Wright ending up better than Ruiz.

Loomis saying "they expect more" not only sounds like they plan to keep him but also confirms that they believe his ceiling is higher than fans believe.