Green Bay Packers: Nothing Set Yet on Right Side of OL
By Paul Bretl
In a call with reporters on Sunday, Matt LaFleur mentioned that nothing is set yet when it comes to the right side of the Green Bay Packers OL.
The left side of the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line, made up of David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, and Corey Linsley, could end up being the best trio in the NFL this season. The right side, however, comes with its question marks, and as Matt LaFleur told us in his Zoom call on Sunday with reporters, the right tackle and right guard positions are still up for grabs.
As of now, it is presumed that Billy Turner and Rick Wagner will be the two starters on the right side of the line, but both GM Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur are confident in the overall depth that they have, and they are excited for the competition ahead.
Pushing Turner for the right guard spot will be Lane Taylor, who missed most of last season with an injury, but prior to that, he had been a solid guard here in Green Bay for several seasons.
As you’d expect, LaFleur is very happy to have Taylor back in the mix, and when asked about him, he told reporters that he is an “athletic, experienced player, and there is no substitute for that, especially with what we are experiencing now.”
Whether you’re using Pro Football Focus’ metrics or Andy Herman of Packer Report’s grading system, Taylor’s 2018 season was better than Turner’s 2019 season. Of course, that has no bearing moving forward, but it is noteworthy.
Given Turner’s contract, in a perfect world, he would return to his 2018 form this season, but as of now, I wouldn’t assume that Taylor is going to be the backup. I believe he will give Turner a run for his money this summer.
Meanwhile, at tackle, like Turner, Wagner is the favorite to be the Week 1 starter, but considering his injury history and his level of play in 2019, these are causes for concern. This offseason, I’ve been pretty vocal about the worries that I have at the right tackle position, but Gutey specifically mentioned Turner, Alex Light, and Yosh Nijman as potential options behind Wagner.
In his NFL career, Turner has taken 491 snaps as a tackle with mixed results. While I question how truly effective he can be working in space, Gutey told reporters that “Billy Turner gives us a lot of confidence that he can go out there and play tackle if need be.”
When it comes to Light, he took 97 pass-blocking snaps in 2019 as he filled in for Bryan Bulaga and didn’t allow a sack, but did allow 10 total pressures. Once again, Light is another option – which Green Bay certainly isn’t lacking – but I’m not sure how effective he will be if asked to play on a regular basis.
The last player that Gutey went out of his way to mention is Yosh Nijman, who was signed as an undrafted free agent after last year’s draft and is loaded with potential. However, while the tools are there to be successful, as we saw last summer, he is still quite raw.
When talking about Nijman, Gutekunst mentioned how excited he was to see him in action this summer, but we also don’t know if he is someone that can be counted on at this point, either.
Next. Gutey Has No Updates on Tramon Williams. dark
Between Turner and Taylor, I am confident that the Green Bay Packers will have solid guard play on the right side this season. However, even after Gutey’s call with reporters, I still can’t say the same about the tackle position. Sure, they have several options – which is a good thing – but there is just a lot of unknowns with that group of players.