5 players the Saints missed out on to draft Trevor Penning

George Pickens

Thirty-three picks came and went from when the Saints brought Trevor Penning to New Orleans and when the Pittsburgh Steelers got a steal with George Pickens 52nd overall. The Georgia receiver has definitely been one of the better receivers from the 2022 draft class and the Saints certainly could have used him.

Pickens hasn't had good quarterbacks since he's been in the league and it would have been a similar story in New Orleans, unfortunately. Even with that being the case, however, Pickens has still balled out in the Steel City. He had 801 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie and then followed that up with 1,140 receiving yards and five trips to the end zone in 2023.

Derek Carr wasn't the best quarterback in the league by any means last year but he'd have made Pickens an even better receiver than the three different signal-callers the Steelers had to trot out each week. Pickens would have been a game-changer in the Big Easy, that's for sure.

The only thing that wouldn't have been ideal here is that Pickens likes to stir up drama and the Saints already get enough of that from one of their receivers.

The New Orleans Saints missed big time on Trevor Penning and although the front office ensures us that they're not giving up on the UNI product, actions speak louder than words and Penning was benched due to poor play this past season. If he doesn't put together a much better season in 2024, he will go down as a Saints draft bust.