Green Bay Packers: End of season awards and recap
By Kenny Jilek
MEDAL RESULT | Rookie of the Year
Elgton Jenkins
Darnell Savage
Rashan Gary
This 2019 draft class could turn out to be a very good one for Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers. These three rookies were the only ones to make noticeable impacts this year, but there is a lot of potential in this class.
Elgton Jenkins, an offensive lineman, getting rookie of the year might seem odd and could bring up questions about how no one managed to put up actual stats more impressive than what he showed. However, he had a phenomenal season after being put in for Lane Taylor in week two.
He did not allow a single sack in essentially a whole season. He also made countless key blocks on touchdown runs. Jenkins is fairly lean for an offensive lineman and moves well in space while also packing a punch inside on power run blocks. He did have a bit of a problem with holding penalties, finishing with six on the season, but as he matures those will hopefully dwindle.
Darnell Savage could very well have been the Packers rookie of the year. He made a big impact in his first season in the NFL. He had two interceptions, admittedly they were both on awful throws, and two forced fumbles. Forcing four turnovers in the first season of his career is a great sign for the future.
He also had five passes defended, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit. He did a lot from his free safety spot, including screaming down into the box to make the play on outside runs. The Packers got themselves a playmaker and he should be even better next year.
People might be disappointed with the season Rashan Gary had. There are arguments that Green Bay should have drafted an immediate impact player at 12, not a project. And maybe they should have.
Realistically though, there were not a ton of players after he was drafted that made huge impacts for their teams other than a few offensive lineman and wide receivers. He did have to sit behind the two extremely impactful Smith Brothers, but he did some good things in his limited snaps. He had a pair of sacks, totaled 21 tackles and recovered a fumble. He’ll continue to work to refine his athleticism and hopefully in a few years we’re talking about how great of a pick it was.