Countdown to Kickoff: Dillon Radunz is the Saints Player of Day 77
Saints Player of the Day Dillon Radunz could be a key contributor and bolster the New Orleans offensive line.
Sunday marks 77 days before the 2025 regular season opening game for the New Orleans Saints. They'll open their 59th NFL season by hosting the Arizona Cardinals. Kellen Moore takes over as head coach for the Saints, who stumbled to a 5-12 record in 2024. Offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, a newcomer to the Saints, wears No. 77 currently. Radunz is our Saints Player of the Day, as we take a closer look at his background and career.
At Becker High School in Minnesota, Radunz was an all-state selection in football and broke his school's record in the shot put. He'd take those skills to North Dakota State, a dominant FCS program. With the Bison, Radunz missed most of his freshman year with a knee injury. He'd rebound to be an all-conference choice in each of the next three years as the Bison won three consecutive FCS championships. In 2019, Radunz also received 1st Team FCS All-American accolades.
Covid forced North Dakota State to cancel all but one of their games in 2020. Despite that, Radunz still performed well in postseason and pre-draft workouts. It was enough to convince the Tennessee Titans to select him with the 21st selection in Round 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Radunz played in 12 games and started one at left tackle. He'd see even more playing time in 2022, making four starts at tackle in his 11 games and appearing in nearly 50% of Tennessee's offensive snaps. Moving to guard in 2023, Radunz started 11 of his 16 games played with 79% of the offensive snaps. He was a fixture at right guard in 2024, starting 15 games and playing 95% of the Titans offensive snaps.
Hitting free agency for the first time in his career, the Saints signed Radunz to a one-year contract this offseason. New Orleans, which played poorly up front a year ago, has a vacancy at their left guard spot. Trevor Penning, a first round choice in 2022, has been taking snaps there this offseason after his struggles at tackle.
Most assume that Penning will be the team's starter at left guard. While he should be considered the favorite, don't count out Dillon Radunz. Remember that this is an experienced blocker who has started 26 games the last two years on the inside. At the very least, Radunz should provide the quality depth that has been severely lacking on the New Orleans offensive line.
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