Green Bay Packers: Billy Turner & Rick Wagner Exceed Expectations

Despite some concerns before the season, both Rick Wagner and Billy Turner have played at a high level this season for the Green Bay Packers.

You can find tweets that I posted during the offseason or various articles that I wrote, stating that my biggest concern for the Green Bay Packers this season wasn’t the wide receiver position, and it wasn’t even the run defense. Rather, it was the offensive line–more specifically, the right side.

Bryan Bulaga left in free agency, and in his place, the Packers signed Rick Wagner to a team-friendly deal, and they chose not to address the tackle position in the draft. The thought of many — including myself — was that Wagner would be the right tackle and Billy Turner would compete with Lane Taylor at right guard.

Wagner had battled injuries in 2019 with Detroit, appearing in only 12 games, and when he was on the field, he struggled. Meanwhile, at right guard, Turner didn’t have anywhere near the success that he did with Denver in 2018, and I just wasn’t on board with the thought of him working in open space and playing tackle. In fact, I even thought he could be a prime cut candidate this upcoming offseason.

But here we are, the regular season is over, the Green Bay Packers have the No. 1 seed, and I was incredibly — and happily — wrong about this duo.

Despite numerous injuries and a whole lot of movement along the offensive line, the Packers had the best unit in the NFL. They allowed the second-fewest sacks and the fewest pressures, according to Pro Football Focus ($). And by ESPN’s pass-block and run-block win rate metrics, they ranked first.

Although Wagner wasn’t a starter for the entire season, when called upon, he filled in very well, which certainly isn’t an easy task. In 352 pass-blocking snaps, Wagner gave up only one sack, 16 pressures, and he hasn’t been called for a single penalty. Wagner has been able to regain some of his past form this season, and he’s done so fighting through multiple injuries, which hasn’t gone unnoticed:

"“I tell you what, that guy is as tough as they come,” LaFleur said via Packers.com. “I think this bye week will really do a guy like him a lot of good.”"

Then there is Turner, who was touted for his versatility when signed in free agency, and that ability has been on full display. For much of the year, he was the starting right tackle but played right guard recently and has filled in at left tackle — one of the most important positions in the game — during each of David Bakhtiari’s two injury stints. And oh yeah, he’s been really good too.

Over 524 pass-blocking attempts, Turner has given up only two sacks, 25 pressures — which is down considerably from the 52 he game up in 2019 — and going into Week 17, he as the top-rated tackle by ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric. This measures the frequency at which an offensive lineman can hold his block for at least 2.5 seconds.

And as you’d expect, Turner has received some high praise from Matt LaFleur because of his versatility and level of play:

"“I think Billy has done a tremendous job all season long no matter where he’s played: right tackle, right guard, left tackle,” LaFleur said via Packers News. “You know, he’s got the right mindset, the right attitude. He comes to work every day ready to go. He’s a true pro.”"

Even with the constant shuffling along the offensive line, Wagner and Turner provided much-needed stability. As good as this Green Bay Packers’ offense is, as we’ve seen this season, when Aaron Rodgers is under pressure, moving the ball becomes a lot more difficult.

If the Packers are going to make a playoff run and bring the Lombardi Trophy home, they’ll need the offensive line to continue playing at a high-level, and that all begins with their starting tackles, Rick Wagner and Billy Turner.