Young Offensive Line Key to 2024 Success
Behind stand out right tackle Zach Tom, Packers running back Josh Jacobs has spearheaded a rushing attack that leads the NFL in rushing yards after two games.
In his first start as a Green Bay Packer for Malik Willis, the third-year quarterback relied on a rushing attack that evoked memories of the past on Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Packers ran the ball 53 times for 261 yards, which was the most rushing attempts for the franchise since 1978.
Going into the Week 3 contest with the Tennessee Titans the Packers are leading the league in rushing with 464 yards. The credit for the impressive rushing performance can go to head coach and play-caller Matt LaFleur as well as starting tailback Josh Jacobs, who is currently 4th in the league in rushing. The 151 yards rushing on Sunday was Jacobs’ 3rd highest rushing total of his six-year career. The 32 carries was the second most he had, behind a 33-carry, 229-yard day he had against Seattle in 2022.
.@packers @iAM_JoshJacobs not many RB's are willing to "press the hole" like this knowing you have the bounce, the explosion; the contact balance to escspe #gopackgo #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/r7FJj6gWrh
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 16, 2024
However, to both become and maintain being one of the league’s best rushing teams, much of the credit must go to the five (and sometimes six) guys playing up front. Through two games the group of Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, Jordan Morgan and Zach Tom have only allowed two sacks (both coming against Philadelphia), as well as opened up lanes for the likes of Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, Marshawn Lloyd, Jayden Reed, and Bo Melton.
The success of the 2024 Packers may depend greatly on the continuity and health of the offensive line. The line is very young with a lot of upside. Jenkins is the veteran of the group, as just one of the two offensive lineman who’s not on his rookie contract (Andre Dillard the other).
Zach Tom has shown to be a future star at right tackle and fellow 2022 draftee Rasheed Walker has displayed the potential to be a long term starter at left tackle. The others: Myers, Rhyan and Morgan are all guys drafted in the first three rounds of their drafts. With Morgan’s latest shoulder injury, Rhyan will be counted on to be the starter at right guard for the foreseeable future.
Total Pressures Allowed vs. Indy@PFF
LT: Rasheed Walker: 0
LG: Elgton Jenkins: 0
C. Josh Myers: 0
RG: Sean Rhyan: 2
RT: Zach Tom: 0— Jacob Morley (@JacobMorley) September 16, 2024
The young offensive lineman has the potential to mirror the last two groups of Green Bay linemen that were the backbone of the offense. In 2003, led by Ahman Green’s 1883 yards rushing, the Packers finished 4th in the league rushing behind Chad Clifton, Mike Wahle, Mike Flanagan, Marco Rivera and Mark Tauscher. That group was together for most of 2001-04, with ‘03 being the one season where all five guys were healthy the entire season. The Packers rushed for at least 200 yards in five games that season.
The other group to compare this one to would be 2014. In a season that ended sadly in Seattle, the group of David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, Corey Linsley, T.J. Lang and Bryan Bulaga were easily the best line to ever protect MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Both of those teams were able to both run block and pass block at a high level thanks to an elite offensive line. Time will tell if this version will be able to do the same.
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Mitch McLaughlin is a Packers fan and shareholder residing in Sacramento, California. He will be writing Packers stories each week on Cheesehead TV. He can be found on Twitter: @McLaughlinMitch
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Comments (5)
dblbogey
September 17, 2024 at 09:19 pm
David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, Corey Linsley, T.J. Lang and Bryan Bulaga. Man, I forgot that they had 5 studs on the OL. Obviously Myers and Rhyan are the weak links now. Tough luck on Morgan's injury. He and maybe Rasheed are still question marks. Shout out to Elgton Jenkins. He hadn't been the same player since the ACL, but he's been balling out this year.
TKWorldWide
September 18, 2024 at 06:58 am
Absolutely vital to the success of every offense. When free agency came to be years ago, salaries of linemen (especially left tackles) exploded. Why? Because the front offices tasked with building a winning roster knew the value of having great offensive lines.
Many times I’ve wondered about the “Maddenization” of football fans. Just plug in a shiny new QB, receiver, or running back and watch the offense excel. That won’t happen if that “skill” player is surrounded by stumble bum linemen.
As painful as the whole 2nd overall pick out of Michigan State was years ago, at least his presence put a magnifying glass on line play for many fans. If you know, you know.
As always, GPG!
Leatherhead
September 18, 2024 at 07:30 am
I must be hallucinating. Just a week ago, I was told here that we only had 3/5 of a line and that the good runs didn't require any blocking from our Center and that Butkus needed to be replaced. Seriously.
I still think we're not as deep as we could be, and that if injuries hit that unit we're going to be in trouble. Our starting unit is pretty good (obviously, since we're leading the league in rushing) Nothing good happens on offense without blocking, so if good stuff is happening, you know that people are getting blocked.
Also, the TE has to be included in the offensive line, since on the majority of plays he's blocking Kraft has done a nice job in that regard these first two games.
Coldworld
September 18, 2024 at 09:59 am
Jenkins and Tom are certainly playing well. Walker has dipped, but I think it’s rust and that he has improved with snaps. Myers has been the Myers of last year and RG remains a weak link where we are hoping Rhyan will actually show he belongs but has yet to prove it and nor had the now injured Morgan, despite encouraging signs.
So 3/5 is right. I suppose some could reasonably say that thus far 2/5 if they don’t see the improvement in Walker that I think I do. It’s not truly proven yet. Fortunately the RBs are leading the field in yards after contact and broken tackles. That suggests that a lot of our success is despite, not because of, the OL, or at least the weak links on it.
Leatherhead
September 19, 2024 at 11:10 am
Seriously? You think we're rolling up 200 yards of rushing offense despite our OL?
No. If something good is happening on offense, I guarantee you the line is getting the job done.