With the New Orleans Saints entering an expected busy offseason that could be paramount for the future, the team needs to figure out where to invest their assets. Yes, it's easy to say, "they can just draft all their positions of need and find starters", but that's not realistic. Draft classes like the Saints' in 2017 or 2025 do not happen consistently. 

So, with the expectation that some selections may not work out, juggling which positions they do not want to risk a draft pick on must be figured out first. With the roster in mind, the only position group that jumps out as something that must be fixed before the draft is the interior offensive line.

Entering the season, the Saints had a plan to move former first-round pick Trevor Penning to another new position. The hope was that he could transition seamlessly to LG... that's not what happened. Instead, it was not good. Free agent signing Dillon Radunz stepped in, and Penning was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers at the deadline.

So, LG wasn't what was expected, but then at RG, Cesar Ruiz struggled throughout the games.  In 2024, while Klint Kubiak was OC, Ruiz thrived in his system and improved, but in 2025, with Kellen Moore's offense, he took a step back. Then, if it couldn't get worse, star center Erik McCoy went down with a season-ending injury, which added another injury to a growing list. The interior offensive line was not something teams tend to survive.

Taking the entire offensive line into consideration, the Saints are good at tackle. Kelvin Banks Jr. played at a very high level as a rookie, and Taliese Fuaga, when healthy, was excellent. So that leaves the interior.

Starting with LG, if the Saints are ready to invest most of their spending money on the offensive line, there is one home run answer that would be an excellent upgrade.

Bills LG David Edwards will be turning 29 before free agency, and would heavily upgrade both the Saints' pass and run blocking. Edwards is also a former Super Bowl champion with the Los Angeles Rams, and has been competing in the playoffs for years. Currently, per Spotrac, Edwards is projected to get around $20 million annually in free agency. 

Moving on to the center position, this one is a pretty easy fix: bring back Luke Fortner. When McCoy went down, Fortner stepped in, and he was a good short-term fix. If McCoy's injuries become an issue, invest in the depth. 

Now, RG-wise, there are fewer top-tier options like Edwards, but the Saints can still get an upgrade. Some guards that stand out are John Simpson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Ed Ingram. Each player has some drawbacks, but would still be upgrades at RG.