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The biggest battle of New Orleans Saints training camp is happening in the trenches. Cesar Ruiz, the team’s top draft pick, is hoping to win the starting job and stay at his natural position at center. But he’ll have to unseat the incumbent starter, Erik McCoy, who put up very good game tape during his 2019 rookie season.
For now, Saints coach Sean Payton is just focused on getting them used to working together. Whoever doesn’t remain at center will shift over to the right guard spot, replacing three-time Pro Bowl alternate Larry Warford. And while it’s too early to call the competition after the first day of practice in pads, Payton has been encouraged by where things started.
He spoke about the training camp competition in his Monday conference call after practice: “We’re evaluating both of them, they’re both getting plenty of work. McCoy’s getting work at center, Ruiz is at right guard. And probably every second or third day we’ll evaluate and flip them around. We’re rotating both of those guys with Nick Easton inside. We feel like, obviously, all of those reps are important and I think overall (Ruiz is) a pretty quick study.”
It shouldn’t panic anyone that Ruiz isn’t taking every snap at center right away. The Saints often train players at different positions (defensive back P.J. Williams had a great day of practice at safety), and there’s a good chance Ruiz ends up playing at guard rather than center for much of his rookie year. It’s best for him to get some familiarity with it now.
For the curious: Ruiz started 26 of 31 games at center with Michigan, spending the remaining 5 starts at right guard. At Texas A&M, Erik McCoy logged 37 starts at center and 2 at guard. That won’t factor much into who starts where in 2020 with the Saints, but it does give some context on where each player’s background lies.
Also, Easton has also been filling in for left guard Andrus Peat. While early reports out of Saints training camp were positive for Peat, he wasn’t in attendance at Monday’s practice session, and Payton offered no explanation. It’s unknown whether Peat is dealing with an injury, personal matter, or the NFL’s COVID-19 protocol, but we’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, this is what Easton is here for. It’s good to see that he’s also part of the training camp battle to start along the interior, justifying the big contract the Saints signed him to last summer. While Ruiz should be a favorite to get the starting nod, having a vested veteran like Easton involved will make sure the rookie earns his opportunity.
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