Trevor Penning leaning into technical aspects of playing offensive tackle with New Orleans Saints

Mind you, Penning isn’t casting stones at his college coaches. His development at Northern Iowa helped make him a first-round draft choice and the possible replacement at left tackle for Terron Armstead, one of the best linemen in franchise history who signed with Miami as an unrestricted free agent.

But Penning was able to get by without being as sound.

“It was a lot of different stuff being taught that I wasn’t taught in college,” he said. “You didn’t need it in college. You were more physically gifted than a lot of them. Here, you’re going against everybody who’d just as physically gifted as you, so you’ve got to have good technique.”

That improved technique, and the increased reps he has received in OTAs because some veterans opted to skip the voluntary workouts, have pushed Penning’s development forward.

“I think it’ll help a ton,” he said. “Just getting reps against NFL players, that’s going to help a ton. Really, it helps slow the game down. You kind of get used to it, you kind of get the feel of what NFL pass rushers are like.”