The New Orleans Saints made a bold move up the board to select Erik McCoy with their first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and the decision is immediately paying off. The rookie center out of Texas A&M is well on his way to winning the starting job.
McCoy has earned first-team looks with the starting offensive line in every minicamp practice session open to the media over the last two weeks, including both practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Saints invested $4 million in free agent Nick Easton before drafting McCoy, but Easton has filled in for right guard Larry Warford. Easton has played more NFL snaps at guard than center so it makes sense.
As for McCoy: he’s been rotating in and out of the starting lineup with Cameron Tom, who was Max Unger’s backup and understudy for the last two years. Tom joined the Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi back in 2017. Tom received the first look at center when the Saints began practicing earlier this spring, given his experience, but McCoy appears to have closed the gap between them after picking up the playbook.
Still, it’s too soon to award McCoy with the starting job. He and quarterback Drew Brees had a few ugly moments in team drills on Wednesday, including a few fumbled center-quarterback exchanges. The good news is that they’ll have plenty of time in training camp to iron out the wrinkles before the regular season begins in September.
