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, the 6-foot-6, 314-pounder has been further along with his run blocking than his pass protection. But he did both at a high level at Wisconsin -- which earned him first-team All-American honors and made him the 32nd pick in the draft.
"In the pass pro right now, like all young players, learning how to use his hands to get to his spot in his set pattern and then to throw his hands, that's just something that we've been harping on, harping on, harping on," Roushar said. "And every day we see a little bit of improvement. And as a I tell him, a little bit of improvement's a lot."
Ramczyk hasn't looked overwhelmed at all to the untrained eye in practices so far. He has certainly had his share of highs and lows but nothing that signals he's overmatched.
It would have been fascinating to see him face the No. 1 pick in the draft, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who torched both Saints veterans Khalif Barnes and Bryce Harris at least once in Thursday's preseason opener.
But Ramczyk should face off against last year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Joey Bosa in joint practices with the Los Angeles Chargers and Sunday's preseason game this week.
"It'll be fun to get some other guys to go against and then to finally get into a game Sunday, so it'll be exciting," Ramczyk said. "I think it'll be a tremendous help [to face Bosa]. But I think the guys here have been a big help, too. So getting the different body types and the different styles of rushers, that'll be big.
"I've seen a fair amount of speed here and some power. ... And throughout this preseason I think I'll get a fair amount of everything. So I think it's essential to feel out all the different moves."
It speaks a lot to Ramczyk's potential that the Saints decided to give him first crack at protecting Drew Brees' blindside after veteran starter Terron Armstead went down with a shoulder injury in June that is expected to sideline him for at least half the season.
The Saints could have moved third-year pro Andrus Peat over from left guard (which they did last year when Armstead was injured). Or they could have gone with veterans Barnes, Harris or Senio Kelemete (all of which remain options if Ramczyk isn't up to the task).
But if Ramczyk can develop quickly enough, he has the highest ceiling of any of those guys.
Ramczyk wouldn't reveal what sidelined him over the past week -- another sign that he takes coaching well. But he said he's not too concerned about being set back.
"Obviously, it sucks to miss time. I did what I had to do, but I'm back now and excited for moving on," Ramczyk said. "Definitely if you're gonna miss reps, you're gonna be behind. There's no doubting that. But I think I've been getting a fair amount of reps, and I was only out a couple days. So I still feel like I'm in a good position heading into this week."