While the New Orleans Saints’ offensive line left a lot to be desired in the run game, the team’s protection unit did a better than previously thought job at keeping its quarterbacks clean in pass protection down the stretch.
While no team is perfect in this area of the game, the Saints performed a bit better than what would be expected from a team that saw 29 different offensive line combinations. Especially during the final nine games of the season.
Overall the Saints’ offensive line allowed a 34.7% pressure percentage last year, the 13th-highest rate in the NFL per Next Gen Stats.
However, over the final stretch of the season in Weeks 9-18, the team let up pressure only 32.8% of the time, fifth least in the league.
That’s an impressive flip for New Orleans partway through the season and along with a quarterback change, which can often lead teams to trending in the other direction instead due to changes in communication, play style and cadence.
Quarterback Tyler Shough has reason to believe in the group ahead of him, especially after the way they closed out the season last year. The free agent acquisition of guard David Edwards should only further that confidence.
One additional element to watch in 2026 will also be the team’s sack percentage. While the Saints had one of the lowest pressure percentages surrendered toward the end of the season, the team’s 8.8% sack percentage ranked the eighth highest across the NFL over that span.
While pressure didn’t get after Shough often, when it did, it got home. New Orleans will need to improve upon that with the help of a number of areas in 2026.
But, despite that, there’s reason for optimism when it comes to the Saints’ offensive line in pass protection going into Shough’s second season.
