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Saints throw rookie Ryan Ramczyk in at left tackle, hope he can swim



Mike Triplett
ESPN Staff Writer

METAIRIE, La. -- Ryan Ramczyk hasn't won the New Orleans Saints' left tackle job yet. But it's not exactly a wide-open competition either.

The Saints' first-round draft pick has taken almost every snap with the first-string offense when healthy during training camp -- because, frankly, he needs every snap if he has any shot of earning the job.

"Every play. He needs every rep," said Saints offensive line coach Dan Roushar, who was blunt about where Ramczyk is in his development after playing just one year at Wisconsin, then missing almost all of OTAs and minicamp recovering from hip surgery, then missing the last week of practice and the preseason opener with an unspecified injury.

"Every day he's making progress. And I think our entire staff feels this way, we just want him to come faster than he is right now," Roushar said. "But his intent in the meeting room, his coachability has been outstanding. [If] he struggles with something, we address it, we go out and we work it, we see improvement. And that's really encouraging.

"I've been impressed with how he works. His work ethic, his toughness, really give him high marks there. We just need the daily experience for him to come along."

Ramczyk had a similar take on the situation -- knowing he hasn't earned anything yet, but believing he has the ability to do so.

"I don't know if there's enough time to say I've earned anything yet. So I've gotta keep working," Ramczyk said. "But right now, I think there's not a ton of depth at that position, so I'm kind of the next man up. So I gotta keep improving."

Ramczyk and Roushar also agreed that so far ...

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill