Green Bay Packers: No Surprise, Elgton Jenkins Looks Completely Comfortable at LT

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur summed up Elgton Jenkins’ versatility and high level of play very succinctly by saying that what we have seen from him since he entered the NFL is “unheard of.”

Jenkins took over as the full-time starter at left guard during Week 4 of the 2019 season, and since then, he has lined up at center, once at right guard, and on occasion both tackle positions. Regardless of where he’s asked to play, Jenkins has been very good.

In only two seasons, Jenkins has emerged as one of the better interior offensive linemen in the game. Last season specifically, he allowed just one sack and 20 pressures in 702 pass-block snaps.

By PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric ($$), Jenkins finished 5th among all guards and ranked 9th in ESPN’s pass blocking win rate metric.

With David Bakhtiari sidelined for the time being, as was the case often in 2020, there is going to be some shuffling done along the offensive line. While at this time we don’t know how things are going to shake out exactly, it would appear that the job belongs to Jenkins until Bakhtiari returns.

For the most part, during training camp up to this point, the starting offensive line configuration has been Jenkins at left tackle, Jon Runyan at left guard, Josh Myers at center, Lucas Patrick at right guard, with Billy Turner at right tackle. And as you’d expect, Jenkins looks very comfortable protecting Aaron Rodgers’ blindside.

As Andy Herman of Packer Report recently said, it’s “remarkable to see how well he can play at left tackle,” and he just continues to “win rep after rep.”

Jenkins has only 61 career snaps at tackle, with just 27 of them coming on the left side. Yet despite primarily being an interior player, he is very well suited for this role. He has long arms, good athleticism to handle speed rushes, and the strength to take on bull rushes.

"“He’s looked great,” said Stenavich via Packers.com. “He’s a rare guy in this league, a guy that has the athleticism to play on the edge. Usually you get your centers and guards, they don’t have that combination of length and athleticism to go out at tackle and compete with the good edge rushers out there, but Elgton has those tools. He has the size, he’s got the length, so he’s a very versatile guy, a very intelligent player. You can move him around and the game’s not too big for him. He understands everything. Extremely football smart. Moving him out to tackle, it might not be his absolute best position but he’s still a very, very good tackle.”"

According to PFF ($$), the Green Bay Packers offensive line allowed the fewest pressures, the second-fewest sacks, and ranked first in both of ESPN’s pass-blocking and run-blocking win rate metrics. With the depth and versatility of this year’s group, they once again should be one of the better units in football.

Obviously, the hope is that Bakhtiari is back as soon as possible—and as good Jenkins can be at tackle, he’s an even better guard. However, the Packers know they will be in good hands at left tackle until Bakhtiari returns.

"“He’s just an exceptional player,” said coach Matt LaFleur via Packers.com. “There’s not much he can’t do. We could probably line him up at tight end…and maybe we will. He’s a phenomenal football player, and I think Adam Stenavich and Luke Butkus do such a great job with that entire room, but ultimately, those guys have to take it upon themselves, and he certainly does.”"