The No. 24 pick in the draft was a bit of a surprise in 2020. His name was Cesar Ruiz.
Why would the Saints draft another center (they didn't, the plan was to shift him at guard). Why spend a premium pick on an interior lineman at all (a fair question).
And for two seasons he became a punching bag for fans looking to criticize offensive line struggles. He was in over his head as a rookie, changing positions during a COVID-limited 2020 offseason during which no preseason games were played and he battled an injury. He predictably struggled.
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The reports were positive headed into 2021 that he was vastly improved in his transition to guard. But five snaps into the season Erik McCoy went down with an injury, and Ruiz shifted back to his natural position for the next five games. When he shifted back to guard, he struggled again. He was there for all 17 games along an OL group that was ravaged by injuries. He wasn't the only one who struggled, but his struggles stood out.
Heading into the 2022 season, it seemed there was little confidence in Ruiz outside of the Saints' locker room. But his coaches never wavered, including Zach Strief.
"I think Cesar's made a jump from Year 1 to Year 2. ... He needs to make a bigger jump from Year 2 to Year 3," he said on WWL. "But it's not for lack of trying. The kid works his tail off every single day, wants to get better. And we saw growth, what we need is consistency."
The 2022 offseason was the first of Ruiz's career that wasn't impacted in some way. The first time I approached he turned around to speak to reporters in the locker room he was a bit confused, he'd never seen them in there before. He got his first set of OTAs. He spent the entire offseason focused solely on guard.
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Kentavius Street, a player who was facing off with Ruiz for the first time in 2022, didn't hesitate to name him when he was asked if any along the OL had stood out. It was No. 51.
"Just being able to have that total package is really rare to find in a guard," Street said.
Here were some of the replies and quote tweets:
- "Lying"
- "He got paid under the table to say this"
- "Bullsh*t"
- "Did he understand the question"
And if you think the sh*tposting was reserved for Twitter randos who don't have a platform, don't worry, there were plenty of blue checkmarks happy to jump on the pile.
All this is to say: Make sure to own your bad takes. In fairness, not all takes about his struggles were bad. We can start with any that included the words "bust" or "bench."
The popular thing when approached with the reality of his performance this season (5 pressures allowed in 300-plus pass-blocking sets, per Pro Football Focus) is to be stunned by the "turnaround." That's not what this is. It's a player who has been working, and working, and working, and is coming into his own in Year 3. He's a key piece of a top five NFL offense and one that's dominating in the run game and hasn't seen its quarterback sacked in 8 quarters of football.
His teammates aren't surprised. They tried to tell you.
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"I see a lot more confidence out of him and his game," Ryan Ramczyk said this week, "and I think his preparation has been even better this year, too."
His coaches also aren't surprised (see Strief quote above). They tried to tell you, too.
Again, all I ask: Own your bad takes.
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