Green Bay Packers: Lane Taylor fighting for starting job

After the Green Bay Packers’ first preseason game, it is evident that Lane Taylor is fighting for a starting job at left guard.

Among the Green Bay Packers who struggled in 2018 was left guard Lane Taylor. He would give up eight sacks and 36 total pressures. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he received the worst overall grade of his career since becoming a starter.

Once the season was over we would learn that Taylor had fought through injuries and that could have been a big contributor to the issues that we saw on the field. The hope was that he would bounce back this season, but realistically, there was no guarantee that he would.

As a result, the Green Bay Packers would sign free agent Billy Turner who will take over at right guard and in the second round, they drafted Elgton Jenkins who could take Taylor’s job at left guard sooner rather than later.

Jenkins was a center at Mississippi State for the latter part of his career there but with the Packers, he is expected to be a guard.

As most Brian Gutekunst draft picks are, Jenkins is a phenomenal athlete and his quick feet along with his ability to move well in space make him an ideal fit for new head coach Matt LaFleur’s outside-zone running scheme.

He is also a proven pass protector and during his four years in college, he would allow only three sacks during that span. Jenkins sets a nice wide base and is very strong which makes him quite difficult to move.

I was able to attend the second scrimmage between the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans where I saw Jenkins up close in one-on-one drills. For two consecutive reps, the Texans’ pass rusher tried to bull rush Jenkins and both attempts resulted in the defender on the ground. Jenkins’ strength was on full display and boy was it impressive.

So far through Training Camp, Jenkins has taken a number of reps with the first team offense while Taylor sits on the sidelines or works with the second team.

And perhaps even more telling is that during the Packers first preseason game, all of the starting offensive linemen were listed as inactive, except for Lane Taylor. While during the game, Taylor didn’t do anything negative to stick out, when asked about Taylor and Jenkins after the game, LaFleur had this to say:

"“Yeah, that’s a competition. As long as that’s going to be a competition, we want to see those guys go at it.”"

It is difficult to know where each player stands with the coaching staff at the moment but based on reps, it is definitely close and Jenkins could be the clubhouse leader for the starting left guard position.

Jenkins is a top 50 pick in the draft and simply just could be a better fit for LaFleur’s offense. Taylor has been a starting guard for the Green Bay Packers in each of the last three seasons and if he hopes to make it a fourth, he is really going to have to earn it.