Calvin Throckmorton joins former Saints tackles Willie Roaf, Terron Armstead at OL Masterminds

The long break between minicamp and training camp is a good opportunity to learn from the best, so it’s great to see New Orleans Saints guard Calvin Throckmorton making the most of his summer by attending Lane Johnson’s “OL Masterminds” summit in Dallas. The weekend-long event brings together some of pro football’s best offensive linemen for several days of film study and field work, giving them hands-on experience with their peers.

This year’s summit features an impressive lineup of retired pros offering their input, including Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Willie Roaf. Roaf is joined by other former Saints like Ben Grubbs (who went to two Pro Bowls with New Orleans) and Terron Armstead, who signed a massive contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency earlier this year. Armstead has been a fixture at the OL Masterminds summit throughout his playing career, so it’s not surprising to see him front and center at the event again this summer.

It’s unclear which of Throckmorton’s teammates may have also made the trip. Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning could both benefit from the experience — but even if they aren’t in attendance, they’ll be busy training on their own somewhere else.

But as for Throckmorton: he spent much of 2021 at left guard after Andrus Peat went down with a season-ending injury, totaling 626 snaps at that spot. He also moved over to right guard for 282 snaps when starting center Erik McCoy missed time earlier in the season, putting Ruiz in the pivot point. Throckmorton was seen lining up at right guard again in practices earlier this year, and while it’s too soon to predict that he’ll be pushing Ruiz for the starting gig, he’s shown enough to deserve some consideration given Ruiz’s struggles in the role. He’s got a strong resume with 41 starts on the right side (at tackle) for Oregon. Maybe Throckmorton can pick up some more tricks of the trade this weekend in Dallas to win over his coaches come training camp.