The New Orleans Saints have been widely praised for their fourth-round selection of Old Dominion offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler listed Saldiveri as his Day 3 pick that could surprise for New Orleans:
Saldiveri has NFL-starting traits with his body control to center himself against rushers. Coaches rave about his mental approach to the position, and it won’t be a surprise if he impresses should he be pressed into early action. Saldiveri was a right tackle in college, but he has position flex.
Saldiveri will be an interior player primarily in New Orleans, after a successful right tackle career in college. Per Pro Football Focus charting, he allowed just nine sacks in 1,406 pass blocking snaps during his career.
He’s a great athlete, offering much more in that area than fellow depth guard Calvin Throckmorton. Throckmorton had a notoriously-low Relative Athletic Score, coming in under a 2.00, while Saldiveri came out with a 9.84 grade when scored as an offensive guard. Lewis Kidd is a much more comparable athlete, with a 9.26 unofficial RAS.
Saldiveri also ended inside up Brugler’s Top 100 players in the 2023 draft. It’s hard to look at Saldiveri and not get excited about the potential that the Saints found in the fourth round, with the trade up to secure him looking better and better. Starting guards Andrus Peat and Cesar Ruiz are both playing out the final year of their contracts and Saldiveri could position himself to supplant one of them this time next year.
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