The layout of the starting offensive line was one of the biggest unknowns for the New Orleans Saints this offseason. Through observations at organized team activities have the mystery has been solved. Taliese Fuaga, Trevor Penning, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz and Kelvin Banks Jr. are the starting unit.
Injuries aside, the unit clearly needed to be improved from last year with either coaching or talent. The Saints did both. New head coach Kellen Moore brought brought Brendan Nugent back to New Orleans as the offensive line coach and T.J. Paganetti traveled with Moore from Philadelphia to the Saints to be the run game coordinator.
Even after replacing Lucas Patrick with Dillon Radunz and drafting Banks Jr., there were still questions of who would play where. The Saints never married themselves to the rookie playing a specific position. Media has been able to see a few OTA practices, and the starting offensive line has yet to shift.
Trevor Penning locked in the Saints starting offensive line
Trevor Penning may have been the biggest question mark of the unit this offseason. Many wondered if Moore was content with his offensive tackles. He wasn't. Moore drafted Banks and slid Penning inside. It's a move they're confidently rolling with moving forward.
Most notably, Penning isn't competing for the left guard spot. It was handed to him. There was a chance Penning had to compete with Radunz. Penning is stepping into a position he's never played before. The fact Radunz and Penning aren't going back and forth with the starters is a sign of confidence in Penning.
It's important to remember we're only in OTA's. While this can be a valuable evaluation period, it's more difficult to get a gauge on how the offensive line is performing. The players don't have pads on and aren't doing a lot of team sessions.
Penning is the clear plan at left guard for the Saints, but they still don't know how good he'll be at the position. At this point, it's still completely theoretical. Once the players begin to put pads on, Penning can prove he deserves to be uncontested for his starting role.