Las Vegas Raiders: 50 greatest players in franchise history

While it remains to be seen how he will recover from his season-ending foot injury, left tackle Donald Penn has been an absolute technician protecting quarterback Derek Carr‘s blindside since arriving in the Bay Area in 2014. Penn was a Pro Bowler in 2010 with his first team in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, he has certainly re-invented himself during his four years with the Silver and Black.

Penn has been a prominent feature on the Raiders’ elite offensive line the last two years. He has earned Pro Bowl honors in both 2016 and 2017. Penn is known for his ability to pass protect, as well as his ability to keep edge defenders in check on zone reads. He’s not the nastiest player on the Raiders’ offensive line, but he might be the most skilled in terms of all-around technique.

Yes, his highly publicized holdout during the 2017 training camp was not ideal. However, he did live up to the hype on his new deal with the Silver and Black. That being said, Penn has not finished the last two seasons on the field with the Raiders due to injury. The normal iron man out at left tackle has succumbed to two season-ending injuries in the last two Decembers.

Penn will be 35 in 2018. This will be his 12th NFL season since going drafted out of Utah State in 2007. While he will only play a few more years with the Raiders, we have to appreciate the stellar play we’ve seen out of Penn at left tackle. He’s not a hall of fame level player, but evolving from an undrafted player out of the Mountain West into a multi-time Pro Bowler is certainly quite the career for him.