This is a clear decision. Penning’s first-round selection and pedigree have not proven beneficial to him thus far in his professional career. Penning missed the first eleven games of the 2022 season as a rookie. That season, he only saw 66 offensive snaps.
In terms of his on-field performance, Penning’s year prior wasn’t all that better. James Hurst stole Penning’s starting offensive tackle position in Week 6, and he never got it back. For the remainder of the year, Andrus Peat took over in his place.
He is expected to start at overtime for New Orleans again this season. He’s competing against rookie Taliese Fuaga, as Ryan Ramczyk tends to his degenerative knee problem. For the Saints’ offense to find its greatest success, he must at the very least be a starting level tackle.
Penning is optimistic that he can improve in year three with new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak calling plays and managing the team. He recently stated that switching from LT to RT this year is fine with him.
“I mean it’s not as much as you would probably think because the whole offseason we trained down in Frisco with Duke Manyweather, we trained both sides so it’s already kind of been you know I’ve kind of been there already we worked on that down there like 50-50 pretty much so it’s not to much of a change.” — Making the switch
Derek Carr
The most evident one is this one. For the first half of 2023, Carr was hurt and erratic. Pete Carmichael Jr., the former offensive coordinator, and his offensive line deserve a portion of the blame, but he is healthy now.
During the second half of the season, he demonstrated that he was a capable starting quarterback. For the Saints to have a strong enough offensive team to win the NFC South again, the veteran quarterback needs to find consistency and effectiveness at a faster pace this season.
The Saints could be an NFC contender if Carr continues to show his mettle.
Adebo Paulson
Something unexpected here? Most likely.
In 2023, Adebo had a breakthrough year. Despite Marshon Lattimorem missing the majority of the season due to injuries, he performed at a Pro Bowl caliber.
Now that Lattimore is back, he is likely under less pressure to perform. Nevertheless, teams will be more inclined to target Adebo and other areas of the field now that the Saints’ top CB is back. In a contract year for New Orleans, he must be up to the task.
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