The New Orleans Saints have quarterback Derek Carr to protect now so they have a much better chance of succeeding than they did last season, no disrespect to Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton.

Quarterbacks hate getting pressured up the middle the most so that makes the center position one of immense importance. New Orleans has had Erik McCoy holding down those duties for the last four seasons, and it's produced good results. 

McCoy hasn't reached the Pro Bowl or All-Pro level yet, but he's proven to be worthy of the second-round pick that was used on him. ESPN gave McCoy an honorable mention shout-out on their top 10 interior offensive linemen list.

McCoy's 97.1% pass block win rate was the fourth best among starting centers. "He's very good for their scheme, and his play has held up even with Drew Brees gone," an NFL exec said. "The Saints were depleted up front last year, but he stood tall." –Jeremy Fowler, ESPN 

McCoy has had to battle multiple calf injuries over the past two years that have cost him nine games. However, McCoy had his second-best grade in terms of pass-blocking (69.2) in 2021. McCoy also didn't allow a sack that season and gave up his fewest hurries (5) and pressures (7) as well.

If consistency is what you want from a center then McCoy has been that with just three sacks given up, eight quarterback hits, 35 hurries, and 45 pressures in 2,110 pass-blocking snaps during his time in the pros.

New Orleans has some issues at their guard spots, but McCoy has the center position on lockdown, and he's a good player to top it off.

Major outlet doesn’t see any decline in Saints veteran

He’s still playing good football.

Feature image via Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports