We’re down to 63 days until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season with the Carolina Panthers, which makes rookie offensive lineman Nouri Nouili, the current owner of the No. 63 jersey, our Saints Player of the Day.
But what’s his story? And how can he help the team in 2024? What are realistic expectations for him? Let’s dig in.
- Name (Age): Nouri Nouili (23)
- Position: Offensive guard
- Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 315 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 8.58
- 2024 salary cap hit: $796,666
- College: Nebraska
- Drafted: Undrafted in 2024 (New Orleans Saints)
- NFL experience: Rookie
A foreign exchange student from Frankfurt, Germany, Nouili played on both the offensive and defensive lines in high school before continuing his education at the next level. Nouili’s college career began at Colorado State before he transferred to Nebraska, where he started two years at both guard spots. He logged almost twice as many snaps on the left side (919) as the right (514) while also seeing limited action outside at tackle.
He was rock-solid in pass protection — Pro Football Focus charting found that Nouili allowed just four sacks on 776 career snaps in pass pro. He also drew only six penalties on nearly 1,500 career reps as a blocker. The question is whether he’ll be able to adapt to the zone-heavy scheme Klint Kubiak is installing on running plays. Nebraska used zone on 36.9% of their rushing attempts last season.
With the top of the depth chart nearly set, Nouili must stand apart from other young players who have taken a similar path to the NFL as undrafted free agents; guys like Mark Evans II (who spent most of last season on the practice squad) as well as Sincere Haynesworth and Kyle Hergel.
