New Orleans Saints: Players that must thrive to beat Buccaneers

3. Erik McCoy

This goes hand-in-hand with needing Teddy Bridgewater to play good in this game. If Bridgewater is going to have a good game against the Bucs then he is going to need good protection. We all know how important the tackles, in particular, the left tackle, is for a quarterback.

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While the Saints obviously want the entire line to play well, the position that is under the most pressure and will have the biggest impact on the outcome will be rookie center, Erik McCoy.

McCoy was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft and has shown some good signs for the Saints through four weeks. However, he also had one showing in particular, which was not solely his fault, that could be worrisome in this game.

McCoy was not good against the Los Angeles Rams as the Rams were able to pressure both Brees and Bridgewater all game and it ultimately is what led to the thumb injury and Bridgewater’s struggles that day.

Granted, he was coming up against the best player in the league in Aaron Donald, but McCoy looks every part of being a rookie in that game, despite how talented he is.

This game is no easy feat either as he is going to be tasked with blocking Ndamukong Suh, who is going to be looking to get after Bridgewater all day.

If he has another day where he looks as inexperienced as he is then McCoy and the Saints are not going to have a pretty game.

However, on the flip side, if he is good and contains Suh then Bridgewater should be the time in the pocket that he needs to be good enough for the Saints to win this game.