Chargers-Saints Trade Grades: Los Angeles Finds Help for Justin Herbert’s Depleted O-Line

New Orleans adds to its haul of draft picks, sending Trevor Penning to a Los Angeles team desperate to bolster its offensive line.

Trevor Penning was drafted by the Saints as the 19th pick in 2022. / Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Chargers added some much-needed help for their depleted offensive line minutes before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline arrived. 

Los Angeles relinquished a 2027 sixth-round pick to New Orleans in exchange for versatile offensive lineman Trevor Penning, a 2022 first-round selection. This move comes a day after the Chargers announced that stud left tackle Joe Alt sustained a season-ending ankle injury in the Week 9 win against the Titans. The team had already lost star tackle Rashawn Slater for the year back in the preseason. 

Penning was drafted to be a tackle, but he never found his footing at the position, forcing New Orleans to start him at left guard this season. The Saints had some flexibility on their offensive line because they used recent first-round picks on tackles Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga. 

Here are my grades for the final trade on deadline day.

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Chargers

This L.A. offensive line needs so much help that there’s no obvious starting position for Penning. The Chargers could give experienced tackle Trey Pipkins III a chance to protect Justin Herbert’s blindside while placing Penning at right tackle, where he played most of last season with the Saints.

But Penning, 26, showed some progress as a guard, another area where the Chargers need help, especially because right guard Mekhi Becton has struggled to stay healthy this season. Left guard Zion Johnson, a 2022 first-round pick, has had a similar rocky career as Penning. 

Regardless of where Penning plays, the Chargers (6–3) needed to make a move to give Herbert a fighting chance to get this banged-up team into the postseason. Good offensive linemen are rarely available for trades, but Penning’s arrival could give this team a component patchwork offensive line to possibly secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

On the down side, patchwork offensive lines can fall apart at any moment, just ask the 2024 Vikings, who traded for Cam Robinson to replace the injured Christian Darrisaw last year, only for the reshuffled line to crumble in the two biggest games of the season, including the wild-card loss vs. the Rams.

Without Alt, the Chargers are no longer legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But they could be a scary team in the playoffs with Herbert and a talented group of pass catchers, if this offensive line holds up in the coming months. 

Grade: B   

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Saints 

Trading Penning is another reminder of how much GM Mickey Loomis has whiffed on his first-round picks in recent years. But at least the Saints gained another draft pick after landing a nice haul earlier Tuesday in the deal that sent wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to Seattle. 

Usually, using three first-round picks in a four-year span on the offensive line leads to tremendous results. That’s been far from the case in New Orleans, but the team might have found something in bookend tackles Banks and Fuaga, who sustained an ankle injury last week. 

Still, it’s hard to tell what this offensive line is capable of without a franchise quarterback. Spencer Rattler didn’t pan out and it’s too soon to make an assessment on second-round rookie Tyler Shough, who made his starting debut in last week’s loss against the Rams.

Overall, the Saints should have traded more of their top players to finally get a true rebuild going in New Orleans, which hasn’t happened since Drew Brees retired five years ago. But the two moves on Tuesday are baby steps in the right direction.

Grade: C+ 

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