The Packers Offensive Line Starts to Take Shape Despite Injuries

We are nearly one week into the Green Bay Packers training camp, and we are starting to get some answers about the team’s offensive line. Unfortunately, injuries have prevented the desired starting five linemen from getting reps together.

Head coach Matt LaFleur has always said he wants the best five linemen on the field as starters. GM Brian Gutekunst has emphasizing versatile offensive linemen in the draft. The Packers have multiple players on their roster who can play multiple positions which can help keep the best five players in the lineup.

Thus far, the Packers starters, when everybody is healthy, have been Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, and Zach Tom at right tackle. The right guard spot has been a rotation between third-year man Sean Rhyan and rookie, first-round pick, Jordan Morgan. The Packers initially said they would look at Morgan at tackle, but he’s seen more time at guard in the early days of camp.

Unfortunately, Zach Tom has been unable to participate in contact drills during training camp thus far as he continues his recovery from a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered during the offseason. In fact, on Friday, LaFleur announced that Tom won’t participate in contact drills until after Family Night which is scheduled for next weekend.

In his absence, Andre Dillard got the first chance at reps at right tackle. Dillard struggled mightily in pass protection. He was beaten early and often by Rashan Gary and other players and was demoted from the first string in practice after two rough days. The Packers originally signed Dillard to give them an experienced swing tackle. Unless he improves his play, his roster spot may be in serious jeopardy.

After Dillard’s struggles, Kadeem Telfort has received work with the starters at right tackle. He has been an upgrade over Dillard since taking over at the position. Telfort got these reps over Luke Tenuta and rookie sixth-round pick, Travis Glover.

The Packers have now activated their biggest lineman, Caleb Jones, off the non-football injury list. One thing to keep an eye on is whether Jones gets reps with the starters over Telfort once he’s participating in all practices and is up to speed.

On Friday, Myers missed practice due to personal reasons. The Packers moved Jenkins to center. Rhyan moved to left guard with Morgan taking over at right guard.

Jenkins has taken reps at center on other occasions during practice although usually not with the starters. The Packers like to cross train their offensive linemen. Jenkins is one of the most versatile players on the roster and can take snaps at all five positions along the offensive line.

In addition to Jones’ return to practice Friday, undrafted free agent Donovan Jennings was activated off the PUP list and made his debut at training camp. It will be interesting to see how Jennings is used going forward. The Packers guaranteed him $100,000, a large haul for a player that was not selected in the draft. Jennings is considered a leading candidate to extend the Packers streak of having at least one undrafted free agent make the 53-man roster which has happened for 19 straight years.

One player who has not worked with the first-string players is veteran guard Royce Newman. The former Ole’ Miss star recently reworked his contract in an attempt to increase his chances of sticking on the roster. The Packers may not be looking at Newman much early in camp because the coaching staff knows what he can do. Unfortunately, Newman has not made much progress since struggling as a starter in his rookie season.

With right guard being the biggest question mark, the question is will Rhyan step up and claim the job in his third NFL season or will Morgan be ready to make the adjustment from left tackle in college to right guard in his first season in the NFL?

The other issue right now concerns Tom’s absence. Tom is a veteran who should be able to get back up to speed shortly after his return. But more than any unit on a football team, the offensive line needs to work together as a cohesive unit. Tom’s absence has prevented the unit from playing together thus far.

We’ll see how the offensive line develops over the rest of training camp. But one week in, we’re getting an early look at how the coaching staff views this unit.