Trevor Penning's teammates saw encouraging growth after move to right tackle

USA Today

16-02-2025

Trevor Penning's New Orleans Saints teammate saw encouraging growth after moving to right tackle, but will he stay there in 2025 and beyond? That's a question head coach Kellen Moore must answer this offseason with the potential for upgrades available in this year's NFL draft.
But if his veteran teammates have anything to say about it, Penning has done enough to stay at his spot and continue to develop. Right guard Cesar Ruiz said his first year playing next to Penning was an eye-opening experience.
Ruiz grinned when asked about 'Big Trev' by former offensive lineman and NFL analyst Ross Tucker.
'Me personally, I think Trevor's one of the best run blocking tackles, like in the league. I think he's one of the best. I don't know the rankings but he's one of the best. Very athletic,' Ruiz said.
He pointed to one example of Penning putting his rare athleticism to good use on a 'sift block,' a task usually given to a tight end that can be challenging for a 325-pounder like Penning: 'It's crazy. We run an outside zone to the left, like a 19. Trevor has a sift to a safety. I cut off my 2i and I just look on film and Trevor's all the way on the left sideline hitting the safety. I'm like, 'What's going on? I don't know how he gets this energy but I love it.' He's a dog. He's really getting comfortable with that role. I'm proud of him.'
Obviously Penning still has room to grow. He's still a work in progress in pass protection. Pro Football Focus charting found he allowed 54 pressures on 663 snaps on passing downs last year, the most among right tackles around the league. 11 of them came in a single game against the Green Bay Packers, but Penning was charged with giving up two or fewer pressures in nine other games. He showed more good than bad.
But something else to keep track of is his knack for drawing penalty flags. That hasn't been as big a problem as anticipated when the Saints drafted Penning, but it did get out of hands at times. He was fouled 13 times in 2024, third-most among right tackles and tied for eighth-most among all offensive tackles. Penning drew three penalties for unnecessary roughness, one for a low block, and another one for a facemask.
For his part, Ruiz is giving Penning some grace: 'He's just learned the position, moved from the left side to the right side. Even in pass pro, I think he improved so much in pass pro. This is my first season playing next to him. But we say to Trev, because when he was in his rookie year, second year, Trev was like 'I'm going out here to kill people.' And we were like, you've got to do it within the whistle, you've got to be smart with it. Now he's figured it out. He's like, 'I'm going to go punish this dude and get them to throw a flag.''
There's certainly room for an enforcer on the offensive line, and Penning has proven he can be an asset when running the football. The question is whether he can improve quickly enough in pass protection to stay at right tackle and earn a long-term contract extension. The Saints must choose whether to pick up his fifth-year option for 2026 by May 1. If they don't, he'll be a free agent after the 2025 season. Two weeks later on May 15 he'll turn 26.
If Moore and his staff don't want to commit to Penning long-term, they could very well draft his replacement — guys like Will Campbell (LSU), Armand Membou (Missouri), and Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas) will all be 21-year old rookies. Someone could move to left guard, but you'd like to see Penning stay on the right side after playing his best football there. It sure sounds like Ruiz would love to keep 'Big Trev' lining up next to him in the fall.