The New Orleans Saints offseason is nearly upon us, as the Super Bowl grows ever nearer and the time for free agent signings follows shortly after. The Saints are in a tough position with the salary cap once again, and have lots of decisions to make when it comes to the roster and unrestricted free agents, as they have 19 in the upcoming free agent class.
One such player is depth offensive lineman Olisaemeka Udoh, who ended up playing at multiple points for the Saints this season including a start as well. He was strong in his performances at times, and may make for an intriguing decision this offseason.
With that said here is his career stats so far, as well as some pertinent information regarding this season:
Career Stats
Over the course of his six year career, Oli Udoh has had 1,492 pass blocking snaps, and in that span has given up 3 sacks, 56 pressures, and has had 22 penalties, accruing a 96.6% pass blocking efficiency rate. While this is not among the elite of the elite at his position, it is a solid rating, and ultimately is indicative of solid play from someone who has been a spot starter most of his career so far.
Snap Counts
Here are the offensive snap breakdowns for each of his seasons so far, only including games he played in:
- 2019: 63% (31 snaps, 1 game played)
- 2020: 1% (4)
- 2021: 94% (1076)
- 2022: 11% (131)
- 2023: 37% (45 snaps, 2 games played)
- 2024: 16% (149)
2024 season review
2024 was another one of the spot starting seasons for Oli Udoh, as he was active for 14 games, and played in nine, including one start at left guard against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 17. In 2024 he gave up only 1 sack, 5 pressures, and had 3 penalties in his 149 snaps. This was not perfect, and worthy of a 96.1% pass block efficiency rate, but he was solid when he was asked to come in. He was exactly what you would ask for from a depth guard, and nothing more. He lined up at left tackle for 11 reps, right guard on 7 snaps, and right tackle 6 times.
Stay or go?
Ultimately offensive line depth is very hit or miss, you get good seasons and bad seasons, and this was a solid season for Udoh in very limited playing time. The Saints likely do not have much of an opportunity to offer to Udoh beyond this season with the offensive line mostly solidified, and he may find a better offer elsewhere to be a rotational guard or depth piece. If the Saints can get him back on a cheap deal to be a backup guard that is completely fine, but he will likely be offered a deal elsewhere that can offer slightly more playing time. He followed his former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak to the Saints and could do so again in going to the Seattle Seahawks.
