re: Trevor Penning can fortify the future of the Saints offensive line in 2025

Penning sticking at LG would be lagniappe. Banks and Fuaga hitting at OT is what will fortify this line going forward. Like they need to be top 10 guys at LT/RT going into ‘26. But if Penning sticks at LG and plays just well enough that we extend him for cheap, but not so good that we can’t afford him, barring injuries, we should be able to run out the same starting 5 for the next 2-3 years, which would be great if Shough hits and is a legit top half starting QB going into ‘26 himself. Would help tremendously to be able to use resources elsewhere.

Wonder how long McCoy and Ruiz have left at their respective production. The longer they can hang around without losing much, all draft capital could be spent on positions other than QB and OL for the next few years. Need to upgrade at DL/OLB for sure. And our offensive skill guys need a huge upgrade through the draft. Like the early part.

We’ll see. I have very low expectations for ‘25, but it’s possible we’re looking a lot better going into ‘26 with draft capital and a better cap situation. But Shough, Banks, and Fuaga all hitting are huge for the future. Be great if some of the mid round guys we took this year turn into starters or at least 2-deep guys that we can build around.

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Armstead started at LT his rookie year. Mid season he got thrown in and took over

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Well according to his stats he started 2 games as a rookie. The very last two regular season games of the season. That’s not exactly what I call a regular starter at mid season.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/ArmsTe00.htm

But thanks for trying.

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Do you mean floor or ceiling?

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Floor (I called my shot when he was drafted and I'm sticking to it). His ceiling is HOF Guard. The guy has physical ability in the run game and the mentality to do it too. He just isn't agile enough to play tackle.