METAIRIE, La. – When your offensive line plays as poorly as the New Orleans Saints' did this preseason, Khalil Mack is probably the last guy you want to see coming full-steam ahead at you in Week 1.

But that’s exactly what the Saints will face on Sunday when they host the Oakland Raiders.

The Saints' offensive line must improve upon its performance during the preseason. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

“Clearly, as a young player, you can’t help it when you’re watching a game of them on defense, he stands out,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “He’s someone that can be very disruptive and really change a game.”

Mack had 15 sacks last year – five of them in one game against the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos in December. And he became the first player in NFL history to be named first-team All-Pro at two different positions (defensive end and outside linebacker).

Even Saints linebacker James Laurinaitis – who doesn’t have to study to prepare for Mack – talked this week about his admiration for the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder.

“I was a fan of his out of college, specifically because of the game he had against Ohio State,” Laurinaitis said of Mack, who was the fifth overall draft pick in 2014 out of the University at Buffalo. “I remember watching my Buckeyes and being like, ‘All right, who is this man just dominating our O-line?’ He had the pick-six on a screen, and just really as a one-man guy on defense took over that game and made it scary for Buckeye fans for a few quarters.”

Mack primarily lines up against the right tackle, which will put the onus on Saints veteran Zach Strief and whomever lines up at right guard (likely Tim Lelito). Payton said the Saints’ plan will include some “nudging and bumping” help from running backs and tight ends. And Strief said the Saints got a few tips from former Raiders offensive lineman Khalif Barnes when he was on the roster last week.

“He’s an elite player, and he’ll be a big challenge for us. Obviously, as the week goes, we’ll learn him, understand what he’s trying to do a little bit better,” Strief said. “And at the end of the day, it’s gonna be a group effort to handle him.”

That’s an obvious statement – but an important one.

Players like Strief and quarterback Drew Brees have stressed in recent weeks that the Saints’ offense will be in much better shape once it spends an entire week game-planning for a specific opponent. That’s something teams don’t do much of in the preseason.

The Saints should also benefit from the return of their stellar left tackle, Terron Armstead, who was nursing an unspecified injury throughout the preseason. Armstead told NOLA.com he definitely will play in Week 1.

Armstead won’t face Mack too often, but he will see a lot of the Raiders’ new outside linebacker, Bruce Irvin, who is no slouch himself.

The Saints don’t deny that their offensive line pretty much stunk this preseason, especially at the guard position. But Strief insisted he remains confident heading into the real thing.

“As long as we have Drew Brees behind us, and as long as we have the people here putting plans together, I’m gonna go into a game with confidence. I always have felt that way,” Strief said. “Obviously we need to play better as a group up front, but I have confidence that we will. I think [Thursday’s preseason finale] was a good start. There was definitely improvement there, and I think we had a real good week of practice last week. And that’s what we’re gonna need this week. We’re gonna need a really good week of preparation, and we need guys to do more than they ever have in their preparation.

“But I think that at the end of the day, when you walk out to the field on Sunday, you’re not sitting there thinking about the preseason games. I just don’t think that as a player it’s something that’s gonna carry over for us.”