The New Orleans Saints drafted Trevor Penning 19th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, hoping he would be their starting left tackle of the future and be a reliable replacement for Terron Armstead. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone according to plan.
Penning suffered a turf toe injury to his left foot during preseason, which caused him to miss the first 11 games of his rookie season. He returned in Week 12, played the last six games, and started in the season-finale but suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot.
Penning started the first five games at LT during his second season but struggled, and the Saints benched him.
The Saints entered the offseason with uncertainty surrounding Ryan Ramczyk’s future in the NFL. Ramczyk has dealt with cartilage loss in his left knee for the past three seasons, and it’s unclear whether he will play again.
The Saints drafted a tackle in the 1st round.
The New Orleans Saints drafted a tackle in the 1st round
The Saints drafted Taliese Fuaga 14th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Fuaga played RT in college but received reps at LT during rookie minicamp and the start of OTAs.
Penning also received reps at a new position.
Trevor Penning received reps at a new position
According to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, Penning received first-team reps at RT.
Trevor Penning was at right tackle today
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) May 21, 2024
Dennis Allen explained the thought process of putting him at RT.
Dennis Allen explained the thought process of putting Trevor Penning at RT
“You’re going to see a few things throughout the course of training camp, where we’re going to maybe try out some different things,” Allen said. “I think that’s kind of the direction we’re looking at right now, really working Taliese over at the left side, and giving Trevor an opportunity to work on the right side. We’re still waiting to see where Ryan Ramczyk is when we get probably to training camp, being potentially the first time we see him. That’s kind of the thought process.”
Conclusion
To conclude, Trevor Penning has struggled at LT in his first two seasons in the league. With Ryan Ramczyk’s future in doubt, the Saints drafted Taliese Fuaga 14th overall.
So far, Fuaga has received reps at LT during rookie minicamp and on the first day of OTAs, while Penning has received reps at RT.
A thing to consider is that this doesn’t mean that Fuaga starts at LT and Penning starts at RT during the regular season. The Saints are making sure that both players are familiar with different positions in case of an emergency.
We will have a better understanding of who will start at LT and RT during training camp because starting spots are won during training camp, not OTAs.
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