Erik McCoy will likely make his first NFL start Monday against one of the league’s more formidable defensive fronts.
But the Saints 2019 second-round draft pick out of Texas A&M is just excited about the challenge.
“Honestly I didn’t know who would’ve been on the other side of the line,” McCoy said about his first start. “But like I said, it’s a tremendous opportunity. I’m blessed to be in this situation.”
The Saints drafted McCoy after Max Unger, who spent the past four seasons as the Saints starting center, retired earlier this year. McCoy was able to impress this preseason and heading into the regular season opener is listed at the top of the Saints depth chart for his position.
The 6-foot-4, 314-pound lineman said he felt that his transition to the NFL has gone “pretty smooth.”
“The speed of the game has picked up a little bit, there’s been a lot of technique stuff that I’ve had to get better at,” he said. “But throughout the course of camp and the preseason I feel I’ve gotten a lot better at all of that.”
McCoy said playing with the right tempo is what his teammates have emphasized to him this week.
“I don’t think any one player is going to be predominantly on him,” Saints tackle Terron Armstead said. “So he’s gonna have a lot of different names on him. So his communication and his tempo will be his biggest focal points.”
McCoy is no stranger to the starting lineup as he started every game of his college career but was honest when asked how he was feeling ahead of his first professional game.
“Nerves are going a little bit, I’m not gonna sit here and lie to ya’ll,” he said. “But I’m excited for it. I’m ready for it. I feel like I’ve prepared for it really well this week so far and I’m looking forward to the opportunity.“
