Penning wasn't even a penciled in starter...he was a projected as a project that even if healthy wasn't going to start week 1...maybe without the injury he starts before November but that isn't the type of offensive lineman that you bank additional draft capitol to make sure you get.
I think this is just your outlook, which all seems very short term. "Did he start immediately? If not, then he's not a good enough contributor!"
Hardly.
Again, his first year doesn't inevitably constitute his career or career path. And as for the 'project' comment, I'd be interested to hear of anyone involved with the Saints who said anything of that nature, or if it's just more hindsight criticism of a guy who lost most of his year 1 development time to an unforseeable injury .
Time to let go of our 2022 season disappointments and just breathe a little...