Green Bay Packers: Elgton Jenkins was Dominant in 2019

Green Bay Packers 2019 rookie left guard, Elgton Jenkins, wasn’t just very good last season, to put it simply, he was dominant.

At the time it was a fairly inconspicuous selection by the Green Bay Packers primarily because many fans were hoping for a receiver at pick 44 in the 2019 NFL Draft and to put it simply, the offensive line just isn’t a sexy position. However as we all know, during his rookie campaign, Elgton Jenkins was an absolute stud at left guard.

During his time at Mississippi State, Jenkins played up and down the offensive line but locked in at the center position in his final few seasons. But of course with Corey Linsley at center in Green Bay, Jenkins was moved to guard where he made a seamless transition.

Although according to him, that was the most difficult aspect of his move to the NFL level from college:

"“I feel like my biggest transition was getting the technique down at guard,” Jenkins told Jimmy Christiansen of Packer Report. “I haven’t played guard for two years in a live game. So just getting the technique at guard and learning the things I need to be at that position.”"

Yet even with the position change, through training camp and the preseason, many expected Jenkins to push Lane Taylor for those starting reps. And while Taylor would be named the starter for Green Bay’s Week 1 matchup in Chicago, by Week 3 it was Jenkins’ job and he never looked back.

Now given the nature of the position, it can be difficult to quantify the productivity of an offensive lineman. However, there are a few different ways and no matter how you look at it, Jenkins wasn’t just good, he was dominant.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), in 694 pass-blocking snaps in 2019, Jenkins didn’t allow a single sack and he gave up just one quarterback hit. On top of that, his pass-blocking efficiency rating – which measures pressures allowed on a per snap basis and is weighted more heavily towards sacks – ranked 12th out of all guards that played at least 50 percent of their team’s offensive snaps.

In fact, Jenkins was one of two guards who took at least 650 pass-blocking snaps in 2019 and didn’t allow a single sack. Zack Martin of the Dallas Cowboys was the other.

To use a different metric, ESPN’s pass-block win rate measures the rate at which an offensive lineman can sustain their block for at least 2.5 seconds. And once again out of all the guards last season, Jenkins finished eighth with a win rate of 95 percent.

As I said, no matter how you look at it, Jenkins was phenomenal. His initial strength when he engages with a defender is obvious and he’s light on his feet as well. But according to offensive line coach Adam Stenavich, it’s Jenkins’ IQ that really separates him from the others:

"“He’s a really intelligent guy, very football smart,” Stenavich told Packers.com. “He’s confident because he can go out there and he knows what to do, and he knows who to block so he can play fast. That’s the biggest thing for rookies is figuring out what to do, so when they do it they can do at a high level. He’s been able to do that almost from Day 1.”"

But as is the case for every rookie, there are going to be areas to improve upon and that still rings true for Jenkins despite his dominance in 2019. One area to clean up is the penalties as he was called for 10 per Pro Football Focus, and according to Jenkins, he sees himself being able to improve as a run-blocker as well.

With that said, Jenkins is a prime candidate for that Year 2 leap that so many successful NFL players make, which according to David Bakhtiari on a recent Zoom call with reporters, will help take the entire offensive line unit to another level in 2020:

"“I’m excited. Year 2 is usually your biggest jump. He has a chance to make a big jump in his career both on the individual side and collectively as a team, really propel our line to another level of dominance that I expect us to have.”"

Even with the virtual training sessions that the Green Bay Packers have had to have, Jenkins is already noticing how things are coming to him much easier this offseason. Stating in his interview with Packer Report that “the offense seems to be more clear this year” and also adding “the game is going to slow down even more this year.”

And I for one, cannot wait.

For as little notoriety as there was around Jenkins heading into the 2019 draft – which again can be because of the position that he plays – he was one of the most dominant rookies last season. And now add in a Year 2 jump? To whoever has to line up across from Jenkins, I say, good luck.