Mickey Loomis knows where Saints offense must get better in offseason

It's pretty obvious where the New Orleans Saints offense needs to get better in 2026 -- their offensive line. Specifically the interior guard and center positions. With two young stud anchoring the tackle spots, taking pressure off Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga has to be a big priority. And it hasn't escaped the notice of general manager Mickey Loomis.

While he's optimistic that Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy returning to the lineup can clean up a lot of problems, Loomis acknowledged that injuries have been a big challenge for McCoy in recent years. He was limited to just seven games in each of the last two seasons. Getting stability on either side of McCoy could help him. A rotating door of starters at left guard ( Dillon Radunz , Trevor Penning , Lucas Patrick , Nick Saldiveri , Oli Udoh , Landon Young , Kyle Hergel , and Torricelli Simpkins III have all started games the last two years ) and a turnstile at right guard (2020 first round pick Cesar Ruiz , who signed an extension in 2023) hasn't gotten the job done.

"I think the number one thing there is we've got to stay healthy," Loomis began, speaking with local media during his 2025 recap press conference . "Erik McCoy is a really, really good player but he's, you know, been injured the last few years. So we have to examine that. Hey, are we putting him in difficult positions? How can we now, you know, correct that, not let that happen again? Cesar's a really good player and yet we've got to get more out of him as well."

Just one team had to use more offensive line combinations than the Saints did this year, so Loomis is right to point to the injury bug as a big problem. At the same time, improving depth and upgrading the top of the depth chart would go a long way. It sure sounds like he's planning to invest in the unit, but he also doesn't want to sell short how many backups were able to help out.

Loomis continued: "Obviously Dillon stepped in after the Trevor trade. I thought he did a good job. So we'll evaluate that interior offensive line. I think by the way, we had a number of guys step in. Luke came in and played for Erik and did a good job, but we're going to have to evaluate that position and we've got some free agents there. So it's going to be an area that we pay a lot of attention to in this offseason."

Several of those guys Loomis credits for stepping in are free agents; not just Luke Fortner at center and Dillon Radunz at guard, but injured backups like Will Clapp and Landon Young. Choosing whether to re-sign each of them or bring in help from outside the building is something Loomis and Kellen Moore's coaching staff will have to figure out in the weeks ahead. But it's clear they aren't going to be complacent. There are options to improve the line out there.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints GM will 'pay a lot of attention to' interior offensive line