If Saints can count on THIS Trevor Penning, it could fully unlock offense

One of the (many) positives from the New Orleans Saints preseason opener that may have fallen under the radar could be the most crucial to the Saints success.

Excitement for what the offense of the New Orleans Saints could look like in 2023 was already high thanks to the signing of quarterback Derek Carr. After the performance by the Carr-led offense, and the entire Saints team for that matter, in their preseason opener against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, that excitement has reached a fever pitch.

Of course we know about the upgrade at the quarterback position that should help this offense, but what also looked improved was the offensive line, and a former first-round pick in particular may just be the hidden key that can truly unlock this unit's potential.

When the Saints selected Trevor Penning with the 29th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Northern lowa, there was understandable reason to be excited. After his rookie season was essentially lost due to injury, that excitement was dashed for the time being.

After one game of preseason football, the fire has been lit again. How could it not be? After all, Penning is a 6-feet-7-inch, 325 pound colossus that has an attitude to boot. Coming out of college, as is tradition with small-school offensive linemen when they enter the NFL, Penning played with a chip on his shoulder, which is what you love to see. He also has a nasty mean-streak to go along with it, as evident by recently being involved in a training camp kerfuffle that had to be broken up.

Some may look at that as a negative, but not us. Penning is hungry. Against the Chiefs, Penning was finally able to eat. Penning was an absolute road-grader, paving the way for the Saints rushing attack. He was also serving up breakfast for others to eat, having himself multiple pancake blocks in his limited action.

If this is what the Saints can expect out of Trevor Penning, and is what they get once the regular season starts, then the sky truly is the limit for this offense. The offensive line of the New Orleans Saints may be a bit of a question mark, but going forward, the left tackle may be answered, and answered in a big way. If this is the case, then there's no telling how far this team can go.