Canal Street Chronicles
New Orleans needs help on the offensive line, and while they could address it in the draft, there are some FA available.
It’s fairly obvious that the New Orleans Saints need to get some new bodies in their offensive line room. They have two cornerstone pieces in Taliese Fuaga and Erik McCoy, but we saw how much the offensive line struggled when McCoy was out with an injury - especially the interior of the line.
While building through the NFL Draft would be ideal and probably the route they will go, this year’s free agent offensive line class is pretty solid. They obviously won’t have a ton of money to spend, but there are some guys out there that they could get for a discounted rate that could still be an impact player.
Today, we’re going to look at some of the offensive guards who are set to hit free agency and which ones the Saints could target.
Mekhi Becton is a former first-round pick in the NFL Draft but has suffered from nagging injuries throughout his career. After spending time with the New York Jets, Becton signed with Philly this offseason and had a career year, playing 1,158 snaps and allowing five sacks, three of which came in the first five weeks of the season.
Becton is coming off a Super Bowl performance where he allowed just one pressure and no sacks in 29 pass blocking snaps. Spotrac currently has his market value set at $10.2 million dollars per year, which is about a million more than they’re paying Cesar Ruiz.
Obviously, there is some injury risk that comes with Becton, but if he can stay healthy, he could end up being a solid piece at guard for the Saints for multiple years. Plus, he worked with Kellen Moore this past season, so there’s some familiarity there.
Sticking with the trend of signing young talent, another guy they could look to add is Chicago Bears OG, Teven Jenkins. The 26-year-old is about to hit the market and has a price tag that is expected to be around $10 million dollars, according to Spotrac.
Jenkins is coming off a 2024 season where he started 14 games and played 738 snaps. He allowed four sacks and 17 pressures while earning a 74.3 run blocking grade. He isn’t some home run signing, but he’d be an improvement over what the Saints have at the moment.
Brandon Scherff, OG
If the Saints want to go with a one-year stop gap, there are a couple of guys they could target, one of which is Brandon Scherff. The former Washington Commanders guard has spent the past three years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. At age 33, he is entering his 10th NFL season.
According to Spotrac, Scherff’s market value is around $6.7 million dollars, and they project that he’ll get a one-year deal. He had the worst run blocking season of his career in 2024 (though, so did...
