Trevor Penning NFL Draft 2022: Scouting Report for New Orleans Saints’ OT

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HEIGHT: 6’7 1/8″

WEIGHT: 325

HAND: 10 1/8″

ARM: 34 1/4″

WINGSPAN: 6’10 7/8″

40-YARD DASH: 4.89

3-CONE: 7.25

SHUTTLE: 4.62

VERTICAL: 28″

BROAD: 9’3″

POSITIVES

— Light on his feet with fluid movement skills in space.

— Prototypical height, weight and length.

— Imposes his will with a bully mentality and dominates competition regularly.

— Uses a mixture of crafty hand techniques (snatch, flash) to keep rushers guessing.

— Generates major torque on command to toss defenders off their feet.

— Has the quickness and play strength to operate in any scheme.

NEGATIVES

— Tends to drop his outside foot, open his hips early and create a short corner against wider-aligned speed-rushers who attack his edge.

— Pads tend to rise after the snap and he plays high too often, leaving his inside shoulder vulnerable to getting opened up by speed to power.

— Has moments where he looks disinterested or bored, playing down to competition.

2021 STATISTICS

— 12 starts at left tackle.

NOTES

— Has put on close to 100 pounds since arriving on campus as a lightly recruited 235-pound tight end.

— Set the school squat record at 625 pounds.

— 33 career starts.

— Was on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List.

OVERALL

Trevor Penning is a three-year starter with starts at both tackle spots and guard. He has prototypical size with light feet and high-level power to play on an island and generate movement as a run-blocker on double-teams, down blocks and frontside kick-outs.

Penning does a nice job of snatching defenders who lean in pass protection, with the ability to drop his hips and anchor quickly. He imposes his will and dominates competition with overwhelming size and torque, but he has occasional lapses where he appears to go through the motions, letting defenders slip blocks too easily.

Penning tends to turn his hips early toward widely aligned speed-rushers who attack the corner with high pads, leaving his inside shoulder vulnerable to getting lifted and pried open. He also needs to work on resetting his hands quicker when his punch lands high on defenders to prevent getting forklifted and shed.

Penning has ideal size with high-level power, above-average athletic ability and the demeanor to be a quality starter right away. He can become an impact starter if he can learn to play with more discipline, consistent leverage and hand placement.

GRADE: 8.0 (Year 1 Starter – Late 1st-2nd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 29

POSITION RANK: OT5

PRO COMPARISON: Matt Feiler

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn