The New Orleans Saints have more than their fair share of questions coming out of their preseason loss to the Rams. Among the biggest: Is there enough depth along the offensive line?
The development of rookie Jeremiah Wright will go a long way toward answering that question. He pulled the start against L.A. in place of Cesar Ruiz and, as former Saints OT and preseason color analyst Jon Stinchcomb points out, the Saints are relying on him stepping forward into that 6th man role with Dillon Radunz lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
“He’s going to have to provide that depth," Stinchcomb told WWL's Bobby Hebert and Steve Geller. "The Saints need him. … They’re going to rely on him to be ready."
Brought to you by TRANESOUTH: It's hard to stop a Tranewww.audacy.comCheck out the full interview with Stinchcomb in the player above or in the video atop this page.
Whether he can be ready will probably depend on Wright's ability to harness the aggression he plays with in positive ways. It's an element that he's used to thrive in the past and teams want interior linemen to have an edge to them, but it can cut both ways. That could be seen on the Saints' first drive against the Rams when he picked up an unnecessary personal foul, hitting a Rams defender off of a pile as defenders were attempting to tackle WR Bub Means.
That's a no-no in the NFL. The 15-yard penalty set up a 3rd and 16 and effectively ended a promising drive. He flashes well on run plays, though, when he was able to lean Stinchcomb says it's important for the Saints to help him tap the brakes on that part of his game without erasing it entirely. It was a similar balance the team had to strike with former tackle-turned-guard Trevor Penning.
"You don’t want to steal what makes him special in that he’s physical, you know, he’s got a lot of power," Stinchcomb continued. "You don’t want to take that from him, but you also want to help him realize when to use that and when you just can’t sacrifice that body control and balance and how to use those traits to his advantage.”
Wright will have at least one more extended opportunity to show that development when the Saints face off with the Cowboys on Friday in their preseason finale. But injuries will also be key to watch, with Ruiz going down with an ankle injury during Thursday's joint practice with the Rams and missing Monday's practice. If the Saints don't feel Wright is ready for the role, they could look at a similar strategy to last season where they added two linemen by trade (Luke Fortner and Asim Richards) and a third on waivers (Xavier Truss) prior to the start of the regular season.
