3 players who need to perform during Saints preseason Week 1

The New Orleans Saints will begin preseason play this weekend when they head to the desert to play the Arizona Cardinals. Preseason games might not matter when it comes to the final score but there are plenty of other factors that are important during the preseason, such as the players fighting for a roster spot.

Also important during the preseason is the players who are on thin ice. The Saints have more of these players than they'd care to admit and are hoping to see something -- anything, really -- from the players who they put a lot of stock in but haven't seen that stock pay off.

Let's explore three Saints who desperately need a solid performance on Saturday.

Trevor Penning

With one of their first-round selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Saints selected Northern Iowa's Trevor Penning and so far, the pick has not met expectations. Penning immediately got off on the wrong foot by picking fights in training camp during his rookie year. He didn't back up that feistiness during his rookie campaign, sitting with an ugly 38.7 pass-blocking grade from PFF in 2022.

The hope was that he'd put the lackluster rookie year behind him when entering Year 2 but Penning didn't look any better. He received more playing time (nearly all of his 417 snaps were at left tackle) but struggled and finished the year with an overall PFF grade of 53.6.

The heat is on for Penning now. The Saints are moving him to right tackle after drafting Taliese Fuaga in the first round and hoping that this is what finally kicks Penning into gear. A bad performance in the preseason, especially if he's going up against backups at some point, could have Saints fans dreading what the regular season is going to look like.

Payton Turner

The year before the Saints took Penning in round one, they took another player in the first round who looks like a bust. Payton Turner was a first-round pick in 2021 and has not been impressive at all. Most of that is due to his failure to stay healthy during his NFL career, as he's appeared in just 15 games in three seasons due to injury.

Saints fans felt that the team could have waited to take Turner and overall, it did feel like a huge reach. He hasn't proved people wrong with his on-field performance and it's now or never for the former first-rounder.

The preseason is a chance for Turner to show that he was indeed worthy of a first-round pick and to show that he can be a legitimate starting defensive lineman in the NFL. He's entering the final year of his rookie deal after New Orleans opted not to pick up his fifth-year option so this is the beginning of what he's hoping will be a redemption season for him.

Lucas Patrick

The Saints desperately need help on their offensive line so they brought in Lucas Patrick this offseason. Patrick started 15 games and played 953 snaps at center for the Bears last year and finished the season with an overall grade of 50.5 from PFF while getting penalized a league-leading 11 times.

New Orleans signed Patrick to play left guard and he's listed as the starting left guard on the first unofficial depth chart entering the preseason. The Saints have so many question marks on their offensive line and rolling with Patrick in the starting spot is a risky move.

If Patrick balls out during the first preseason game, then Saints fans might relax a bit more but if he struggles, it could be another long year for the offensive line.