Agreed. I think Penning is solid, but certainly not worth his draft grade. And Fuaga played pretty well for a rookie, but not as well as most expected, although much of that may be because of the play of the guy next to him.
But the point still remains. The Saints have 3 #1 picks and a #2, and the D-line has 4 #1 picks. The Saints HAVE been trying to build the trenches while ignoring other positions, and where has that gotten them? Besides Olave, when have the Saints not drafted O-line or D-line in the first round.
The Saints were at their best under Payton when they had high round draft picks at the skill positions - Reggie Bush, Meachem, Henderson, and a O-line made up of mostly lower round draft picks - except tackle.
When they went away from that model, what happened? They had Drew behind a solid O-line throwing to UDFA receivers and they got beat in the playoffs because they didn't match up talent wise. Teams could double MT and there was nobody else to hurt them.
It's not a mistake that most of the top playmakers in the NFL came from the top of the draft.
Right now all teams have to do is double Olave, and force someone else to beat them. We don't have that guy on the team so the Saints will lose no matter how good the O-line is till they get more playmakers.