Canal Street Chronicles
Breaking down New Orleans’ potential front five.
One of the biggest remaining questions of the New Orleans Saints’ offseason is how they plan to reshuffle the trenches after selecting an offensive tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft in back-to-back years. After some thought, here’s the front five I’d feel most comfortable rolling with come Week 1:
With the ninth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Saints selected Texas Longhorns OT Kelvin Banks Jr.
The year before, New Orleans took Oregon State OT Taliese Fuaga with the 14th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Although Fuaga primarily played on the right side in college, a significant need for an anchor on the blindside and the hope of 2022 first-round pick Trevor Penning finding his footing amid a switch to right tackle influenced the decision to move him to left tackle for his rookie season.
That said, I don’t think the same approach should be taken with this year’s first-round tackle.
Even though Fuaga thrived in his new role, returning to a position he once excelled at would be a much smoother transition than a switch to an entirely new position against pro-level talent as a rookie.
Furthermore, Banks was one of the most dominant left tackles in all of college football during his junior season. The 21-year-old played all 934 snaps on the left side, allowing just one sack and 10 total pressures on 538 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. His 86.2 overall grade ranked fifth among tackles in 2024, along with his stellar 89.9 pass-blocking grade. He also earned an 81.0 run-blocking grade on 397 run-block snaps, proving he’s no slouch in that department either.
Over his three years with the Longhorns, Banks allowed just 4 sacks and 34 total pressures on 2,774 pass-blocking snaps.
As of now, Banks has gotten work at LT, LG, and RT throughout rookie minicamp. Saints head coach Kellen Moore explained that they want to expose him to a few different positions before narrowing the focus later in the process.
After losing 31-year-old Lucas Patrick to the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency—a veteran who arrived as an expected backup but allowed zero sacks and just 10 total pressures on 330 pass-blocking snaps in 2024—New Orleans began searching for a replacement at guard, with a starter yet to be set in stone.
In March, the Saints agreed to terms with former Tennessee Titans guard Dillon Radunz on a one-year, $2.25 million deal.
The 6-foot-6, 301-pounder started 15 games for Tennessee in 2024, allowing six sacks and 23 total pressures on 547 pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF. Radunz also finished the 2023 season with a 78.7 run-blocking grade on 319 run-block snaps.
At 27, Radunz is still young enough for the Saints’ new regime to mold him into the player who best fits their scheme—especially with the addition of former Philadelphia Eagles offensive quality control coach and new Saints...
