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The Saints have exercised the 2021 fifth-year options on CB Marshon Lattimore and OT Ryan Ramcyzk, per source.
These are the first members of the 2017 draft class to have their options picked up. Under the new CBA, these are fully guaranteed. Two easy decisions.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 20, 2020
The first members of the 2017 NFL Draft class have had their fifth-year options picked up for the 2021 season, and they both play for the New Orleans Saints. ESPN’s Field Yates reported Thursday that the Saints exercised the options for both cornerback Marshon Lattimore and right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, keeping them both under team contract control for the next two years and, crucially, buying more time to hammer out long-term contract extensions for both of them.
Lattimore and Ramczyk being the first members of their draft class to have their options activated speaks to how highly-regarded they both are in New Orleans. We estimated earlier this offseason how much these options will be worth in 2021, but those figures will heighten between now and then as new contracts are paid out around the league.
Lattimore, the 11th overall pick out of Ohio State back in 2017, has been voted into two Pro Bowl appearances in his first three years. He was also selected as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Ramczyk, the 32nd overall pick from Wisconsin that year, has strangely been snubbed for each Pro Bowl since while earning recognition on the All-Pro list in both 2018 (on the second team) and 2019 (on the first team).
For a quick refresher: because neither Lattimore nor Ramczyk were picked within the first ten selections, their fifth-year option values will be determined by the average of the highest-paid players at their positions (specifically, the 3rd- to 25th-highest annual salaries). For now, that puts them in the ballpark of $11.6 million for Lattimore and $12.8 million for Ramczyk.
And, just to remind everyone: the Saints picking up these fifth-year options does nothing to affect either player’s 2020 salary cap hits. These were expected moves that should do a lot to keep the Saints competitive in the future.
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