Green Bay Packers: Best/Worst case scenarios for Elgton Jenkins

The Green Bay Packers took interior offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins in the second round, here are the best and worst case scenarios for his first season.

The Green Bay Packers broke one of their tendencies that they had established under former General Manager Ted Thompson when they selected Elgton Jenkins in the second round.

Jenkins became the second interior offensive lineman along with Corey Linsley to be selected by the Packers since 2010. Typically, the Packers have selected blindside tackles and converted them to the interior. Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang, and J.C. Tretter are among some of the recent examples.

Jenkins at this point is said to be capable of playing all five positions along the offensive line, which is an encouraging trait for someone who may not start during his rookie season.

While he is a better fit for the Green Bay Packers’ outside-zone scheme they’re likely to employ under head coach Matt LaFleur, it’s unclear if he will be able to displace Lane Taylor as the starting left guard for his rookie season.

Before camp, it’s hard to say on what exactly Jenkins’ role could be, but we do know this, the sixth offensive lineman on the depth chart is incredibly valuable. It’s quite rare that a team starts the same five men up front for an entire season.

We also know that the Green Bay Packers have at least two players that have struggled with injuries over their careers. Lane Taylor was banged up most of last year and Bryan Bulaga has only played 16 games once in his career.

Regardless of if Jenkins starts or not, he will play at some point.

The Packers have seen how a season can implode if their offensive line is in shambles. It was not that long ago that Aaron Rodgers was running for his life with Don Barclay and Josh Walker playing both tackle positions.

We also know that the Packers’ guard play last season was horrendous. It appears they’re using Taylor’s health as the reason for his poor season.

Unfortunately for Mike McCarthy and his staff, they needed to be correct about Justin McCray replacing Jahri Evans at right guard in the same way they were about Taylor replacing Sitton. However, they were not and McCray was eventually displaced by veteran Byron Bell, who had struggles of his own.

Neither player inspired much confidence throughout the season. McCray remains on the roster but has an uphill battle to make the team and Bell is now an unrestricted free agent.

With all of that said, here are the two best scenarios for Jenkins for his rookie season.

Best case

This is an interesting case for Jenkins, because the Green Bay Packers may think that he’s better off sitting for a season to learn the offense, and filling in where appropriate. It’s also possible they’re hoping that a top-50 pick that’s a better fit for the offense can easily displace someone currently slated to start. And that person is likely Lane Taylor in this scenario.

For Jenkins personally, every player wants to play. So his hope certainly has to be that he becomes fully entrenched as the team’s long-term starter as their left guard. Plug him in and don’t worry about the position for the next 10 years.

Jenkins should be able to adapt quickly as someone who moves well in space and can get to the second level if he is asked to. He could also be an upgrade for the Packers in their screen game. He’s faced a lot of high-level competition over his college career having played in the SEC. There will be a jump to the NFL, but the learning curve may not be as steep for him. Jenkins’ best case is lining up across from Akiem Hicks on September 5th when the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears.

Worst case

Worst case is that Jenkins is not ready for big league competition when he comes into camp. He starts his year on the bench behind a starting five of David Bakhtiari, Lane Taylor, Corey Linsley, Billy Turner, and Bryan Bulaga. From there, he’s immediately thrust into action after an injury before he’s ready.

That is a scenario that could kill his confidence and ultimately hurt the team. If Jenkins is ready to play, it will be obvious early in camp. If he’s not, he’s best suited to sit on the bench until he can get in a better spot for him to play. Ultimately, Jenkins will play at some point, but he needs to play well when that time comes.