If Saldiveri makes the leap then our biggest problem is finding a competent RT.

Here are my odds:

Fuaga steps in as a rookie and is a stud. 65% (that he is at least average as a starter, realistically on a rookie 1st round pick there is a wide range of outcomes and first year stud may be only 25% while serviceable as a fill-in might be 65-75%)

Penning is healthy and plays like a first round pick 10% (the tape is very bad, I don't believe in miracles, maybe Zach Wilson cures cancer and Jalen Raegor solves world hunger)

Saldiveri proves ready to play at this level 25% (that he is as good as Hurst was last year, this guy was just a mid round pick and could not crack the lineup even with a lot of injuries last year. 25% is not an insult, if this guy goes from 18 snaps last year to a decent starter this year he could continue to develop and be above average in the future. having a 25% chance to get a good starter with a 4th round pick is actually fine, heck with one who showed nothing rookie year it may be optimistic).

Udoh or Herron or Patrick or Lemieux turns into a good signing 50% (but that probably means we found a new Hurst, not a pro bowler, when you lose a $3-4 million a year guy and throw darts at the wall with four $1-2 million guys, you have a fair chance of a replacement but probably not an upgrade)

Ram responds to treatment 30% (That he responds enough to start, increasingly less likely that he is as good or durable as before, but given his talent and chronic injury there is a wide range of possibilities from pro bowl to becoming a very mediocre player where he looks like Hurst starting at tackle to retirement or embarrassment.)

Those are the percent chances I would bet for those things. They add up to 180% so I guess my prediction would be only 1.8 of those things happen.

But some of those things are relative because it matters exactly how good and how healthy our starters are every position. In some cases you are calling for a player to be a stud or play like a 1st rounder, in others you are merely calling for them to respond to treatment, be a good signing (at $2 million that could just mean decent depth), or be ready to play at the NFL level.

Last year McCoy was our best oline, Ram was good when available, and Ruiz, Peat, and Hurst were serviceable, while Penning and was a liability and Saldiveri could not perform at a level to take the field for any significant snaps. If this year McCoy is still our best oline, and our second best is not better than 2023 Ram was when available, we could have a worse oline than 2023 even if everyone is servicable. But, Peat, Hurst, and possibly Ram are gone, and they are started ahead of Penning and Saldiveri last year for a reason, as did backups we let walk. Realistically, there are scenarios where our oline is worse than last year, about the same, or better. Of the three, I would say that better is the least likely, because realistically we have probably lost 3 starters and replaced them with one player essentially, a mid-1st round pick, filling in the other spots with $2 million and under free agent journeymen. That 1st round pick is something, but as Guido says oline are coming into the league less and less ready, so a standout performance in year one is far from a lock.

We may finally get to see Taysom being used to his fullest. Extremely exciting!

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