The Packers Offensive Line Starts to Take Shape Despite Injuries
By GilMartin

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.
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You can follow Gil Martin on Twitter @GilPackers
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Comments (38)
LambeauPlain
July 27, 2024 at 12:19 pm
I heard Matt say they will continue to mix and match on the OL as a TCamp strategy. He and the coaches want to audition not just players at different position, but also combinations to get to the best 5.
Tom being held out of now padded contact and other live practices until after family night seems prudent.
Hey Gil, do you know when the CHTV site will get back up to "speed"? Slower than my 40 time.
LLCHESTY
July 27, 2024 at 03:18 pm
Good to hear Jennings and Jones aren't going to miss any padded practices. Jennings is in the same boat as Morgan as far as having little experience playing on the right side but hopefully shows enough to push Newman off the roster. He has the athleticism(8.93 RAS) they normally look for in early round picks. He fits better than Glover in that regard.
**I tried 8 times to load this comment with a link without success, took the link out and it went right through. Looks like the site has a bug that's doing more than just slowing it down.**
GilMartin
July 28, 2024 at 03:45 pm
I know they're working on it and aware of it. Not sure when it will be corrected. Thanks for the comment.
splitpea1
July 27, 2024 at 01:07 pm
It doesn't sound like it's taken much shape at all with a couple of key pieces missing time and and all the shuffling going on. I guess that's what to be expected at this point. Better get it sorted out in reasonable time with our new $220 million man under center, and maybe save Dillard and Newman for the backup QBs. The biggest question that needs to be answered, at least in a small way, is where Morgan fits in to start the season and how much of a project he is going to be. Rhyan deserves a fair shot to start at RG as long as he proves it in camp.
Side note: This could be a good time to put up the spaceship screen and fix the loading issues that have persisted for a few days. I've tried three different browsers and they are all painfully slow.
HawkPacker
July 27, 2024 at 01:23 pm
Yes, it is getting so slow that it doesn't seem to make sense to even read anything in this website.
LLCHESTY
July 27, 2024 at 01:40 pm
They need to give the 8th grader next door $20 to clean it up.
Zapato
July 27, 2024 at 02:31 pm
Glad I'm not the only one having problems with the pages loading. Maybe it's time to swap out the Tandy 1000 server with something a little faster.
LLCHESTY
July 27, 2024 at 02:46 pm
👍🤣 Maybe it should be thumbs down because knowing that Radio Shack reference makes me feel old.
Thegreatreynoldo
July 27, 2024 at 03:46 pm
CHTV/Jersey Al are aware of the problem. The site seems to warm up a bit if I stay on it for a while. Of course, for me that means two hours writing an article and then more time reading other articles and responding to any comments I might get.
Zapato
July 27, 2024 at 06:05 pm
Glad someone's working to fix it! On my last attempt, it only took 21.56 seconds for the page to load. I believe that equates to a RAS of 1.056. :-)
Califan
July 28, 2024 at 12:40 am
Rhyan has already proven himself through training camp. He has played every position except tackle when ironically he was a LT at UCLA. Rhyan has shown he can play any position so why not give him a shot at tackle. Rhyan has played with the 1’s so why hasn’t he been named the starter at RG. It’s clear that the Packers want to inset their #1 pick somewhere on the line and since RG is open, why not put Morgan there. The problem is, even Morgan said he’s is struggling making the change to RG. The question remains, will the Packers put Morgan in at RG for no reason other than he was picked #1? If they put Morgan at RG he better be ready to protect the Packers newly minted $220 mil QB.
Leatherhead
July 27, 2024 at 02:39 pm
Until I have a reason to believe otherwise, I think it's Morgan/Walker at LT, Jenkins at LG,Myers at C, Rhyan at RG, and Tom at RT. That's six linemen, when we only carry 9 or 10 the 53. It does not include the rookies (Jennings, Glover, Monk), it does not include veterans like Dillard and Newman or Caleb Jones. I've probably overlooked some others, but we're going to be parting with some of these guys.
TKWorldWide
July 27, 2024 at 02:46 pm
(Which is such sweet sorrow)
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 07:58 am
I dunno LH. You have been set on Morgan replacing Walker at LT since the day he was drafted. There seems to be increasing evidence that Morgan will be playing RG this year as Rhyan has not asserted himself at that position. That doesn't mean Morgan will permanently be a RG but you might want to consider the idea that he will be this year.
Bitternotsour
July 28, 2024 at 09:18 am
I don't subscribe to the "increasing evidence" of anything pro football related on July 28th.
Speculate away, form your own opinions, but let's not get out over our skis.
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 09:50 am
Didn't say it was a done deal, but Morgan practicing at RG during the OTA's and during the first week of TC seems to qualify as "increasing evidence" that he will see more time at RG than LT. Would you prefer to disregard what has happened in OTA's and the first week of practice as unimportant and pencil him in as a LT?
LLCHESTY
July 28, 2024 at 01:08 pm
Morgan didn't play RG at OTAs or minicamp. I questioned why he didn't at the time. He had some snaps at RT but not RG.
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Sorry, he did have snaps at left guard, but not right guard during OTA's.
Bitternotsour
July 28, 2024 at 04:08 pm
July 28. I just don't buy anything at this time of year. I also don't put any stock in preseason wins and losses, but I am old and perhaps the game has passed me by.
Leatherhead
July 28, 2024 at 11:17 am
I simply cannot believe that the Packers used the #25 pick on one of the premiere left tackles in the draft so that they could convert him to RG, the least important position on the offensive line.
Why would you draft Morgan, if, in the opinion of the coaches and personnel people, he's not better than Walker?
That's what y'all are asking me to believe: The Packer braintrust drafted a guy with pick #25 to play RG. They picked a LT who isn't better than Walker with pick #25, they knew he wasn't better, and they intend to use him at RG.
I have problems with that scenario.
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 11:49 am
Gute has publicly stated he believes Tom's best position is center and he could be an all pro there. The coaching staff has Tom at RT. Gute drafted Morgan as an LT. The coaching staff is apparently trying Morgan at RG. You seem to view the Packer brain trust as monolithic. There is evidence to the contrary.
Leatherhead
July 28, 2024 at 01:08 pm
Tom was a Day 3 pick who was selected for his versatility. Center might be his best spot...I don't know....but we already have a Center and we needed a RT and that's where he ended up.
That's not the same as taking months to study and select a guy with your first round pick, then moving him from the most important spot on the line to the least important..
If we wanted a RG, then why didn't we just draft a RG? Sometime after the first round, like maybe Day 3? And if we wanted a LT, why would we draft one that isn't any better than the one we have.? That just makes very little sense to me. What makes more sense is that they figure Morgan will be the LT during the Love Window, and Walker will be a backup.....that we might be able to resign if we can't keep Tom and/or Rhyan.
I think the Packers would like to line up Morgan/Jenkins/ Myers/Rhyan/Tom and use Walker as a backup. Next year, when Myers is gone, it's very possible that Tom will get moved to Center. Or we might just draft a real good Center on Day 2 of the draft. Or Monk might be our Center of the future.
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 06:35 pm
Re: Tom "but we already have a Center and we needed a RT and that's where he ended up."
Re: Morgan But we already have a Left Tackle and we needed a RG and that's where he ended up.
What the front office thinks and what the coaches do are not always the same.
I am sure Gute drafted Morgan as a tackle - no question. However LaFleur believes he already has a LT and maybe has a weakness RG. He wants to put the best five O-linemen on the field. Which is why Morgan is practicing at RG this TC.
This doesn't mean Morgan is a permanent RG. I could easily see a slight modification to your scenario where Morgan spends this year at RG, next season the Packers don't resign Myers at Center, Tom slides into center and Morgan shifts to RT (or LT and Walker moves to RT).
I don't dispute that Gute drafted Morgan as a tackle, but stuff happens in the short term and I believe my eyes when I see Morgan practicing almost exclusively at RG to date in TC.
Leatherhead
July 28, 2024 at 06:42 pm
Guam.......Tom was a Day 3 guy that we drafted especially because of his versatility.
Morgan is a Day 1....#25 overall. Don't be deceived by the first week. If we have a 'weakness' at RG (which is always going to be your weakest spot) then draft a guard...... With Morgan and Tom at the tackles, and Walker as the swing,that's a pretty good group.
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 10:08 pm
Let's compare notes in a couple of weeks. I don't think either one of us is going to change his mind at this point.
LLCHESTY
July 28, 2024 at 01:33 pm
They don't draft guards early, haven't since late in the Wolf era. Morgan was the 7th T taken and there were better pure Ts available when they took him. Just because he's not better now doesn't mean he won't be ready to compete with Walker next year. He has technical issues to work on and could be more competitive next year with some focus on his hand and footwork.
Having said that it doesn't sound like he's getting any snaps at tackle since TC started. Hopefully he shows enough to be the swing T while competing at G.
LLCHESTY
July 28, 2024 at 03:08 pm
Sounds like LH might have to learn to live with it. It could be they saw enough from Morgan in OTAs and minicamp to feel confident he can be the swing tackle without a ton of practice reps but that seems doubtful given his technical issues. The Dillard experiment seems almost over and the other backups are lumbering behemoths so you'd think if he had a chance to win the LT spot he'd be getting as many reps there as possible.
"In his pre-practice press conference today, LaFleur made it sound like first-round pick Jordan Morgan is going to focus on the guard position moving forward. After the draft, the team claimed that they were going to give Morgan an opportunity to play left tackle, the position he played during his playing career at Arizona, but that no longer seems to be the case."
I can't link it but that quote comes from today's practice news and notes on ACME. LaFleur's presser from today is on YouTube.
Leatherhead
July 28, 2024 at 06:57 pm
If I can live through Tony Mandarich and Corey Rodgers, I suppose I can survive this. Less than six weeks until the Philadelphia game.
So, The Plan is that we'll start Walker and Tom at tackles, and we'll have Morgan compete with Rhyan at RG. So...who are the backup tackles then? Or are we going to move everybody around if somebody gets hurt?
You also opined there were better "pure tackles" on the board at #25. Your opinion. I thought that of all the OTs we might have a shot at, he was the one most ready to come in and play early on. My opinion.
This is after a couple of days of no pads. I'm going to give it a couple of weeks. I'm going to listen to LaFleur's presser, but it seems to me this is just idle speculation based on a couple of days with no pads.
XXXXXLaFleur's PresserXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Morgan is getting more comfortable inside,but he's talented enough to bump outside...""
"It's one padded practice"
"I wouldn't read too much into it"
Guam
July 28, 2024 at 07:59 am
Duplicate
Thegreatreynoldo
July 27, 2024 at 04:06 pm
This article is far too upbeat about the prowess of the offensive line. Telfort held his own day one at being with the ones and then got steamrolled by Gary pretty good on day two. At least Tom will return and lock that spot down (assuming he gets and remains healthy - it is a long season).
Rasheed is adequate at LT. He does not appear to have taken a jump, at least not yet. Jenkins if fine at LG. Myers is somewhat below average but obviously GB can get by with him since they have. Myers and the GB rushing attack might benefit from Rhyan/Morgan being at RG at least in the run game, as Runyan was deficient in that regard. OTOH, while Myers is fine as a pass protector, Rhyan wasn't and it remains to be seen in Morgan. Could again have two weak offensive linemen next to each other in the run game, which is something to be avoided. Tom is fine when healthy.
This article does even bother to mention Tenuta, who washed out after Dillard got destroyed. There have been no flashes of promise by the backup candidates for really any position. Monk, Newman, Glover (as far as I can tell Glover plays with the number threes), or any of the OT candidates have flashed. We can wait to see what O'Donnell and Caleb Jones bring to the table. Lecitus Smith is a 2nd year player about whom I've heard nothing.
Well, there is plenty of TC left for the light to turn on for some of these players.
LLCHESTY
July 27, 2024 at 05:17 pm
IIRC Glover had a really low bench number and may need a year to add strength. I'm high on Jennings but that doesn't mean I want to see him playing in the regular season. If Tom injured his right pec I could see that being an issue all year but it seems like his injury was less severe than Kraft's so fingers crossed.
We'll know more after a couple preseason games but right now it looks like an injury to a starter could cause two players to change positions which seemed to be a problem at the end of the McCarthy era, at least for a couple games afterwards.
KKB
July 27, 2024 at 07:54 pm
Short arms Morgan - I have this vision of a T-Rex in a #77 Packers Jersey
ImaPayne2
July 27, 2024 at 09:24 pm
That there's puny. I remember McCarthy saying how he drafts o linemen with shorter arms because they run block better to him. I thought duh this is a passing league
Bitternotsour
July 28, 2024 at 09:21 pm
you don't actually remember McCarthy saying that, because:
A. he never said it
B. he was never a GM
C. he was a passing game guru
D. you're a Viking fan
LLCHESTY
July 28, 2024 at 09:46 pm
💯E. All of the above.
LLCHESTY
July 28, 2024 at 09:47 pm
Repeater
TKWorldWide
July 29, 2024 at 06:21 am
I see the poor guy getting itch on top of his head that he can’t reach to scratch.
ImaPayne2
July 27, 2024 at 09:22 pm
Hope for better health on the O line this year. Those guys did a heck of a job last year considering the injuries.