WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Andrus Peat left it all on the field Friday -- for better and for worse.

The New Orleans Saints' rookie offensive tackle was completely spent after taking on a heavy workload with both the first-string and third-string offenses during Friday's scrimmage. Afterward, he struggled to complete a set of eight 100-yard striders with the rest of the team.

It wasn't a great look for the 6-foot-7, 316-pounder, who admittedly fell behind in his conditioning earlier this summer. However, I'd still rate Friday as one of the best days yet for the first-round draft pick.

Peat lined up as New Orleans' first-string left tackle while starter Terron Armstead remained out with an unspecified injury (coach Sean Payton said Armstead will return Sunday). And Peat seemed to hold up well when I made a point to watch him specifically -- both as a pass protector and run blocker.

Then Peat worked overtime as the left tackle with the third-string unit for multiple series at the end of practice. It was almost certainly Peat's heaviest workload to date.

"It's a process," Saints veteran right tackle Zach Strief said. "And the first thing to recognize is that he finished a 13-play drive and then ran eight hundreds. So that's not ideal for a lineman. It's not what we do. It's not fun.

"If there was ever a play that we ran a 12-play drive, threw an interception and then had 100-yard returns that were fumbled six times, I would probably look very similar."

Strief stressed that "the conditioning stuff is gonna come" and praised Peat for working hard.

"I think he's done a real good job, has picked stuff up well. Look, he's gonna be a really good player. He's got a ton of ability," Strief said. "And they're gonna get him to the point where those hundreds mean nothing to him. But right now, just playing, he's doing a lot of good stuff and he's gonna be a real good player."

Payton said Peat's heavy workload wasn't part of a specific plan to ramp up his conditioning. He said it was a normal "part of the process" to give a young player extra reps while a veteran was sidelined.

As I wrote Thursday, Peat's move to left tackle appears to be a sign that the Saints are cross-training him for their backup "swing tackle" position. Up until this week, Peat spent the entire summer as the second-string right tackle. But he hasn't been pushing Strief for a starting job just yet while going through the growing pains of his first NFL camp.

Still, without benefit of reviewing the film, I think Peat's last two practices have been two of his best yet. So he should only continue to develop as he faces more welcome-to-the-NFL moments, including next Thursday's preseason opener at Baltimore.