2. Erik McCoy, New Orleans Saints
When former Saints center Max Unger announced his retirement in March, 2019, New Orleans was caught short at a very important position. Sean Payton’s team responded to this emergency by selecting McCoy out of Texas A&M in the second round of last year’s draft. All he had to do from there was to acclimate himself in one of the NFL’s most complicated offenses, especially for interior linemen — if you play inside the tackles for Payton and you can’t move, you won’t last. McCoy did that from the start at a rare level. He really hit my radar halfway through the 2019 season, and by the end of his rookie campaign, he had proven to have diagnostic skills beyond his years, perfectly matched with his athletic potential.
Erik McCoy was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft. But when you watch him wall off Shamar Stephen and then take Antony Barr on the late blitz, this ain't no rookie. pic.twitter.com/9iktQo05cP
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) July 21, 2020
McCoy allowed one sack and 14 total pressures in 2019 as the Saints alternated between Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater, and no team was better in the run game up the middle, per Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Line Yards metric, than the Saints. Know his name now, and if Eric McCoy is the top man on this list next year, don’t be surprised at all.