Take a deep dive into the New Orleans Saints roster ahead of training camp with a player-by-player breakdown at each position. The public portion of the 2021 Training Camp presented by SeatGeek kicks off on Friday, July 30 at 9:30 a.m., the first of seven practices scheduled to be open to the public.
2021 New Orleans Saints roster: Offensive line
With positional flexibility and the combination of size, strength and intelligence, Will Clapp enters his fourth season with the Black and Gold in 2021. After becoming a valuable part of the offensive line rotation in 2019, the LSU product appeared in 14 games with three starts. The New Orleans native and former LSU standout saw action in eight games in 2020.
Center Erik McCoy started all 16 games for the Black & Gold in 2020. The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder out of Texas A&M was the only Saint to play 100 percent of offensive snaps (1,074). McCoy provided a key block to free up Alvin Kamara on a 52-yard touchdown reception in Week 3 against Green Bay. He started for an offensive unit that rushed for 200-plus yards consecutively in Week 12 at Denver and Week 13 at Atlanta. McCoy remained consistent when franchise quarterback Drew Brees was forced to miss four games due to injury and Taysom Hill stepped in under center.
Saints guard Cesar Ruiz blossomed under veteran leadership on the offensive line in 2020. When the Saints selected the versatile offensive lineman out of Michigan with the 24th overall pick last April, Ruiz was expected to open the season as a starter at right guard before a late preseason injury slowed his development. Ruiz made his NFL debut in the Week 2 loss at Las Vegas. Ruiz enjoyed the best game of his young NFL career in Week 7 against Carolina, playing all 70 offensive snaps, allowing zero pressures on 40 pass-blocking opportunities.
After starting his career at Eastern Arizona College, Michael Brown transferred to West Virginia in 2018, where he played three seasons. Brown played in 25 games for the Mountaineers, starting 16 at both left guard and right guard.
After spending the 2020 preseason with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane University, Christian Montano signed with the New Orleans Saints in the 2021 offseason.
Offensive tackle and team captain Terron Armstead earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod in 2020. Armstead participated in 100 percent of snaps in 11 contests including the playoffs, helping pave the way for Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who had a record-setting year in the Black & Gold.
Ethan Greenidge is a strong, physical offensive lineman who joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2019. Greenidge spent the entire season on the 53-man roster, spending the majority of his rookie campaign serving the club as a valuable member of the scout team, while earning praise from the coaching staff for his continued development. Greenidge looks to continue to improve and provide depth to the Saints offensive line heading into 2021.
The Saints brought versatile offensive linemanJames Hurst on a three-year contract in 2021. Hurst came to the Saints on a one-year deal last season. He was forced to miss the first four games of the 2020 campaign due to suspension by the league, but once he got on the field, he played an important role up front for New Orleans. Hurst appeared in 12 regular-season games, starting three, and he gave the Saints a dynamic player that filled several roles.
Derrick Kelly II was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft. Kelly made his NFL debut on Sept. 13, 2020, in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was placed on the reserve/Covid-19 list by the team on Nov. 29, 2020, and activated on Dec. 9.
Guard Andrus Peat earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod in 2020. Peat started in his 75th career game for an offense that rushed for over 200 yards for the second consecutive week at Atlanta on Dec. 6. He notched 13 starts in the campaign but was forced to miss three regular-season games due to injury.
Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk earned All-Pro honors for the third time in his career in 2020. The 6-foot-6, 314-pound fourth-year tackle helped protect the "blind side" of franchise quarterback Drew Brees and pave the way for Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who had a record-setting year in the Black & Gold. Ramczyk allowed just two sacks while playing 1,038 snaps in the regular season.
Calvin Throckmorton is an offensive lineman, specializing in the offensive tackle position. He will look to earn a spot on the 53-man roster during Saints training camp.
An offensive lineman with the ability to play both tackle positions, New Orleans selected Landon Young in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. A two-time All-SEC selection, Young was a key anchor on a Wildcats offensive line that was named semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the nation's most offensive line in 2019 and 2020, uplifting a program whose senior class won 37 games, the most in a five-season span since 1949-53.
