The New Orleans Saints kicked off voluntary organized team activities on May 20 and will be held through the 22 before a short break. They will return on the 27, 29, 30, as well as June 2, 4, and 5. Once OTAs finish, the Saints will transition into mandatory minicamp, which will run from June 10 to 12.
One aspect of the offense to keep an eye on during spring practices and training camp is how the team will organize its offensive line, particularly the two offensive tackle spots, as well as the left guard position. With the selection of Kelvin Banks Jr. in the first round, their situation just got more interesting.
The New Orleans Saints rookie received reps at this position
During OTAs, Kelvin Banks Jr. primarily lined up at left tackle while also receiving reps at right tackle. Banks exclusively played at left tackle in college with the Texas Longhorns, with over 42 starts to his name. Due to his relatively small 33.5-inch arms for an offensive tackle, some scouts and analysts wanted him to switch to the interior at the next level, but the Saints appear open to giving him a shot at tackle.
Taliese Fuaga proceeded to move from left tackle to his natural position, right tackle. Fuaga exclusively played at right tackle in college with the Oregon State Beavers, starting 26 games there in his final two seasons. He started in all 17 games at left tackle during his rookie season and did a decent job.
Now that the two tackle spots appear set (for now), this leaves one position as the only remaining vacancy on the offensive line, left guard.
New Orleans Saints’ former 1st round pick, once again, changes positions
For the second straight offseason, Trevor Penning will switch positions, and this time, from right tackle to left guard. Penning switched to right tackle during the last offseason after spending the first two years at left tackle. Overall, he did a decent job in 2024, performing well in the running game but struggling in pass protection.
The Saints declined his 5th-year option, and he will hit free agency next offseason.
The New Orleans Saints’ head coach praised the former 1st rounder
During Thursday’s press conference, via John Hendrix of NewOrleans.Football, Kellen Moore praised Trevor Penning. Moore went on to say that Penning is doing a good job of practicing at left guard and that he is “embracing” the position change.
Moore said they had conversations before the draft about this. “We feel like guard presents him a great opportunity.” https://t.co/l7VeHU380M
— John Hendrix (@JohnJHendrix) May 22, 2025
Kellen Moore also added that Trevor Penning is a fit at guard given his play style and physicality. However, this doesn’t mean that Penning will start at left guard in Week 1, and they will continue to shuffle their offensive line during practice.
“His play style, his physicality is what jumps off the tape, so we’ll allow him to play fast, free and confident because when he plays like that, he’s going to be a really, really good player,” Moore said, via John DeShazier of the team’s website.
“We’ll see how it goes. Obviously, continuity is a really important aspect for those guys but we’ll play with some different personnel packages, just moving those guys around. Because ultimately, in season there will be things that come up and you have to have guys that have played other things and have different exposures. But we’ll try and build on continuity as well.”
