Newly acquired David Edwards impressing McCoy as they build chemistry

By Ross Jackson

The New Orleans Saints made a major investment this past offseason, signing free agent guard David Edwards in an attempt to rebuild and reload the offensive line.

He’s in line to be the team’s starting left guard this year, and for another veteran leader on the offensive line, will be a key addition.

Following the team’s second day of Organized Team Activities (OTAs), starting center Erik McCoy spoke with the local media following practice and shared his thoughts and excitement on the addition of Edwards.

“He is a hell of a ball player,” McCoy said. “Big fan of what he did in Buffalo. Big fan of what he did in (Los Angeles). (He) is a big-bodied, explosive football player that I think is going to help this offensive line tremendously.”

In order to help facilitate that, McCoy is focusing on his snaps that take him over to Edwards’ side. After many years of experience together with right guard Cesar Ruiz, the starting center is working to build chemistry and comfort with Edwards.

“What that looks like right now is that the majority of my reps during the practice sessions are going with the left side,” McCoy said. “I’ve got six, seven years of banked reps with Caesar with the right side. Whereas I don’t have any with (Edwards). So, we’re getting a feel for each other. We’re growing, and I think that he will be a great addition to this team.”

Once they achieve that, the Saints’ offensive line expects to leap to a new level. The team was credited with 29 sacks allowed in the last nine games, the most taken by a quarterback in the league during that span. Protecting quarterback Tyler Shough is going to be the unit’s top priority, but so will be bolstering the run game.

New Orleans finished No. 29 in total rushing yards as an offense last season and averaged just 3.7 yards per career, No. 31 in the league.

As the team looks to improve in both of those areas, the offense will need McCoy back to his peak health and ability in 2026. He suffered a pectoral injury in Week 7 last year that ended his season early. Now, he’s working to rebuild his strength so that he can return to being an impact player for the team’s protection unit and leader for the offense.

“The offseason program in general has been a big emphasis on regaining a lot of the strength that I’ve lost with injuries,” McCoy said. “A lot of the twitchiness, the explosiveness that I’ve had in the past, regaining that, working on that. I feel like as you get older, that’s something you only have to pay more attention to. From a football standpoint, ball is ball. So, it’s been an emphasis on the weight room stuff for me.”