NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Saints could have a hard time passing up a promising prospect at offensive tackle should one be available to them in the 2024 NFL draft.

New Orleans’ offensive line was among the club’s strengths for much of the past decade and a half. More recently, however, the unit has struggled with both health and performance.

Right tackle Ryan Ramczyk, a 2019 All-Pro who missed last season’s final four games with a nagging knee injury, has had surgery in an effort to prolong his NFL career. But his status for next season, which would be his eighth, remains unclear.

“I don’t know that I’m seeing as much progress as I was hoping,” Saints coach Dennis Allen said during NFL owners meetings last month. “He just isn’t quite where I was probably hoping he’d be, and really, quite frankly, where he was hoping he’d be. But again, it’s a long time before we kick the ball off, so I wouldn’t jump to any conclusions right now.”