It hasn't always been pretty for Trevor Penning as he's made a highly scrutinized shift to the RT spot, but his coaches have stood behind him the whole way.
There was a stretch ahead of the regular season when the former first-round pick was trading off first-team reps with veteran Oli Udoh, but offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak made it clear this week that the job is Trevor's -- and now it's time to sink or swim.
"He’s earned the right to go out there and play really well on Sunday," Kubiak said this week, "and I’m looking forward to going and seeing what he does."
It's a major X-factor in what will effectively be the debut of Kubiak's new scheme in New Orleans. Along with Penning on the right side the Saints will also be seeing the NFL debut of rookie Taliese Fuaga at left tackle. But it seems like all the attention will be on the third-year pro, and he understands why.
Penning will be the first to admit that he didn't like what he saw on tape after his preseason debut against the Cardinals. He was too tentative and hesitant. He allowed the defensive player to be the aggressor, and that simply can't happen. He put his head down and make corrections and there was improvement in Week 2 against the 49ers, and some more steps forward in the finale against the Titans.
"For me I just think punch earlier, get my hands on quicker, sooner. That’ll fix a lot," Penning said. "It’s just being a more aggressive mindset."
That aggression has been more evident in the run game, and it's a major part of why the Saints pulled the trigger to draft the former Northern Iowa standout at No. 19 in the 2022 NFL draft. Instead what they got was a player who bookended his rookie season with frustrating injuries, then never looked confident as he began the 2023 season as the starting left tackle before being benched ahead of Week 6 and never returned to the rotation.
The deck was reset on the offensive side of the ball with Kubiak at the helm, but also with new OL coach John Benton and offensive guru Rick Dennison to help iron out issues in the run game. The new scheme should also help to make life easier on the OL, assuming the Saints can run the ball -- which will be a priority -- and set up play action situations. To this point it seems like the change has had a positive effect, but it'll all come down to what Penning can show on game days, starting with the Panthers in Week 1.
"He’s doing everything we’ve asked him to do," Kubiak said. "He’s a super coachable guy and, you know, he’s had some really good practices and a lot can be said about where he started and where he’s come from and I’m really proud to get to coach Trevor and Rick Dennison and John Benton and those guys have done a phenomenal job with him and with the whole offensive line."
