Last season, the New Orleans Saints’ offensive line ranked 29th in pass block win rate, and 19th in run block win rate, while allowing 37 sacks.
After a performance like that, it was obvious the Saints needed to greatly improve their line.
Kellen Moore and the team looked to the 2025 NFL Draft for that improvement. With the ninth overall pick, the New Orleans Saints selected OT Kelvin Banks, Jr., out of Texas.
In 2024, Banks swept the collegiate offensive lineman awards. He won the 2024 Lombardi Award for the nation’s top offensive lineman, the 2024 Outland Trophy, and shared the Jacobs Blocking Trophy (best offensive lineman in the SEC) with LSU tackle Will Campbell.
Throughout his entire collegiate career, Banks only allowed four sacks on his 1,477 career pass-blocking snaps. For perspective, that’s one less sack than Will Campbell.
A SEASON OF UNFORTUNATE INJURIES
At a glance, the Saints’ offensive struggles in 2024 were, to be frank, largely due to the poor play of the offensive line.
In Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Erik McCoy went down with an injury. He did not return to play until Week 11, and then was on and off the field from there. He only played seven games in 2024. A top-ten center missing the majority of a season is a massive blow to the offensive line and the entire offense.
Because of McCoy’s injury, players had to be shifted along the line throughout the year. We saw Cesar Ruiz be moved to center for much of the season, while Trevor Penning was moved around like a Swiss Army knife. We even saw Ruiz be injured for a portion of the season. The only two members of the offensive line to play all 17 games in 2024 for the Saints were Penning and Taliese Fuaga.
Speaking of Fuaga, he played extremely well in 2024. Aside from giving up six sacks, Fuaga played his heart out in the run game. He was the Saints’ best offensive lineman in 2024. Per PFF, his run-blocking grade was 69.5, well above the league average. Fuaga played all of his 1,040 offensive snaps at LT, not his natural position. He did much more than what he was asked for, as someone asked to play a completely different position than he had played his entire life.
ONE MAN CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE
With the addition of Banks on the OL, Fuaga will get to go back and play at his native position of RT, while Banks will be at LT. We can expect a significant decrease in sacks and pressures allowed from Fuaga in 2025, now that he will be playing where he’s comfortable.
The shift of Fuaga to RT and Banks to LT allows Cesar Ruiz to play his best position of RG, while Trevor Penning will be placed at LG.
Penning at LG makes too much sense for this Saints team. Although a tackle in college, Penning has disappointed thus far in his NFL career at tackle. He’s too slow to be a rush defender and has been somewhat of a liability when playing tackle. Although Penning had his best season in 2025, he still performs far below the skill level a 19th overall selection should have.
The qualities he has shown so far in the NFL make him a perfect fit to be an NFL guard, rather than a tackle. He’s burly but lacks the speed necessary to recover from defensive rushers. He has proven, though, that he can pancake any defender he wants. Since he lacks speed, the Saints are putting him on the interior OL, where he belongs. He will be great in the run game at LG for this Saints team. Per PFF, his run-blocking grade last season was 70.1, even higher than Fuaga’s.
THE SAINTS’ NEW OFFENSIVE LINE
Banks joining the team allows everyone (with the exception of Penning) to go back to their native positions in 2025. As long as McCoy and the rest of the line can stay healthy next year, this new unit will make a massive jump.
The number of sacks allowed will decrease. Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller will see open running lanes the whole season. And either Shough or Rattler will have ample time to process defenses.
With the proven elite blocking skills of Banks, McCoy, and Fuaga, and the shift in positions for the group, this 2025 Saints offensive line will be elite.
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