A year ago, it seemed like the New Orleans Saints were in dire straits at offensive tackle.
But now? The Saints might actually be positioned well at the position — as long as a couple things work out in their favor.
Taliese Fuaga is coming off a strong rookie season, during which he played an unfamiliar position at left tackle. Rather than keeping him there, New Orleans is poised to shift Fuaga to the right side — the position he played his entire career at Oregon State — to make room for No. 9 overall pick Kelvin Banks Jr. at left tackle.
This set up is not set in stone yet, of course, but the Saints rolled with it all the way through their summer program and seem content to let it play out this way.
Depth chart (name, height, weight, NFL experience)
Taliese Fuaga, 6-6, 324, 2
Kelvin Banks Jr., 6-5, 315, R
Landon Young, 6-7, 321, 5
Josh Ball, 6-8, 325, 4
Josiah Ezirim, 6-6, 329, 1
Barry Wesley, 6-7, 310, 1
Easton Kilty, 6-6, 307, R
Best case
This is kind of obvious, isn’t it? The Saints have devoted top-15 picks in consecutive years to offensive tackles, and if both of them hit it means the Saints could be on their way to having one of the NFL’s premier offensive tackle tandems.
They’re a long way from that at the moment. Banks has obviously yet to play a down and he wasn’t viewed as a slam dunk offensive tackle prospect (some preferred him at guard). Fuaga enjoyed a solid rookie season, but he’s switching positions and has to prove he wasn’t a product of a friendly scheme.
Still, the Saints are making the right type of gamble at this position. Each of the eight highest-paid tackles in the NFL were selected in the first round, almost all of them in the top 15 picks. Only two Associated Press All-Pro tackles in the last five seasons were drafted outside of the first round — David Bakhtiari and Jordan Mailata.
Taking a first-round tackle is no guarantee of success, but if you’re going to find a good one, that is more often than not where they come from. Since Fuaga has already shown that he can offer competent play at a minimum, Banks is the key.
It’d be foolish to expect Banks to step in and play at a top-10 level immediately, but if he can offer something similar to what Fuaga gave New Orleans last year — roughly top-20 play at left tackle — that would be reason to celebrate, because it would mean the Saints drafted a foundational player at a premium position.
That becomes especially meaningful if Fuaga’s transition to the right side brings more out of him. He enjoyed one of the best seasons by a rookie tackle last year while playing a new position. On the right side, he will be back to where he played at Oregon State, and it’s reasonable to expect a jump in his play.
Good offensive line play — and, specifically, good tackle play — can be a floor setter for an NFL offense. If the Saints can get the best versions out of Banks and Fuaga both this year, their chances of successfully implementing what Kellen Moore wants to do on offense will go way up.
Worst case
While it is true that the top half of the first round is generally where the better offensive tackles are found, that doesn’t mean top-15 picks don’t bust. It’s less common, but it does happen.
If for whatever reason Banks doesn’t pan out — either as a tackle or as a guard — it would be a nightmare scenario for an organization that is already lacking in young and cheap impact talent. New Orleans needs Banks to hit for a lot of reasons related to its on-field product, but it also needs a win from a premium pick after a run of middling draft success.
There’s also some risk of Fuaga taking a step back in 2025, and not just because he’s switching positions. New Orleans was able to minimize its offensive line’s shortcomings last season by combining their heavy zone running scheme with a steady diet of play-action passes and bootlegs — stuff that will not be as prevalent under Moore. The Saints also had Derek Carr, who played a bigger role than he got credit for in minimizing the rush.
There’s a non-zero chance that Fuaga is a better fit for Klint Kubiak’s scheme than he is for Moore’s, and that it shows in his play.
And even if both Fuaga and Banks play well, depth is a concern.
The Saints don’t have a lot of experience behind their presumptive starting tackles. Landon Young has played a lot of football in New Orleans, but is best used as a stopgap solution at a lot of spots. Offseason signee Josh Ball hasn’t played since 2022, and no other true tackle on the roster has played a snap in the NFL.
Prediction in 10 words or less.
Banks struggles early, but closes strong in rookie season.