The New Orleans Saints have drafted an offensive lineman in eight of the last nine years. Five of those linemen have been selected in the first or second round. Despite the investment, the Saints have played poorly up front the last two years.
In 2023, New Orleans ranked just 21st in rushing yardage. Only one team averaged worse than their 3.6 per carry. The Saints were held to under 100 yards rushing in nine of their 17 games and did not have a single runner eclipse even 85 yards all season.
It's not that the team didn't have backfield talent. Alvin Kamara is one of the NFL's top all-purpose backs. Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill are bruising runners with proven productivity, while 2023 third-round pick Kendre Miller flashed explosive potential for the backfield.
Lack of balance often forced the Saints to rely more heavily on the pass than they would have liked. However, pass blocking was also a major issue for the team most of the year. New Orleans quarterbacks were sacked 35 times in 2023, with 15 and countless pressures coming in the first four weeks.
The most recent first-round pick along the offensive front is Trevor Penning, selected with the 19th overall choice in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Northern Iowa. A raw project from an FCS school, it was thought that Penning possessed the size (6'7" and 325-Lbs), power, and enough athleticism to make a rapid development. He showed the ability to be a powerful drive blocker, played with a nasty streak as a run blocker, and flashed agile feet in pass protection.
A foot injury sidelined Penning for the first 11 games of his rookie campaign. Once healthy, he was only used as an extra blocker in jumbo alignments and played a total of just 66 snaps in five games. He'd get his first career start in the 2022-23 season finale against Carolina, showing impressive power as a run blocker but inconsistency in pass protection.
Entering the 2023-24 season, Penning was penciled in as the starter at left tackle. Some growing pains were expected, but what the Saints got instead was a major liability. Penning was the weakest link on an abysmal offensive line. He was a turnstile in pass protection and unable to get any push for the running game, thought to be a strength. Over their first six games with Penning as starter, New Orleans averaged 17 points, 289 total yards, and less than 96 yards rushing while averaging 3.4 per carry and giving up 19 sacks.
Penning was benched going into a Week 7 game against Jacksonville, getting replaced by veteran Andrus Peat. With Peat at left tackle over the last 11 games, the Saints showed significant improvement up front. Over that span, New Orleans averaged 27 points, 357 yards, 106 rushing yards with a 3.8 average, and gave up 15 sacks. While certainly not a long-term answer at left tackle, Peat's presence solidified the offensive line over the last three quarters of the year.
Over those last 11 contests, Penning played a total of just 13 offensive snaps. Even when injuries thinned the line or the Saints went to a jumbo package, the team turned to third-stringers or practice squad elevations over Penning.
The poor overall performance of the line led to the firing of offensive line coach Doug Marrone among several coaching staff changes. Perhaps the biggest indictment against Marrone was the lack of development from their young linemen. Rookie fourth-round pick Nick Saldiveri played only 18 offensive snaps despite injuries and blocking issues up front. Starting RG Cesar Ruiz, a 2020 first-round pick, regressed badly in 2023 after finally showing some promise the prior season.
The most egregious example of this lack of development was from Penning, who was surpassed on the depth chart by journeymen and career backups. To be fair, while Marrone's dismissal was justified, heavy blame must also be assigned to Penning and the other linemen for their poor performance.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and expected offensive line coach John Benton have a challenge in front of them. The Saints have a capable quarterback, though not top-tier, in Derek Carr. They also have a nice array of weapons that include Kamara, Hill, wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, and TE Juwan Johnson.
Because of the poor performance from their offensive line, the Saints are expected to once again use a high draft pick on the position. Additionally, Peat, Trai Turner, Cameron Erving, and Max Garcia are all free agents. Knee issues have also eroded the effectiveness and clouded the long-term future of RT Ryan Ramczyk.
Just 24, Trevor Penning is on the cusp of being one of the bigger draft busts in Saints franchise history. With other needs and limited draft picks and salary cap space, New Orleans will not completely be able to revamp its offensive line. Therefore, Penning will be heavily counted on to show what he hasn't so far for the Saints next season.
More must-reads: