4 “Tough Decisions” Green Bay Packers will Have to Make Along OL

The Green Bay Packers have had to overcome numerous injuries this season, particularly along the offensive line, where there has been a lot of movement over the course of the year.

However, despite that movement and the injuries, the Green Bay offensive line has held up well. According to ESPN, the Packers offensive line ranks fourth in run-block win rate and sixth in pass-block win rate. For the most part, Aaron Rodgers has had the time he’s needed in the pocket, and while not dominant, the run game has been effective enough.

So now that the Green Bay Packers are starting to get healthy along the offensive line with the Week 18 returns of David Bakhtiari and Josh Myers, not to mention that Billy Turner is back at practice, as Matt LaFleur put it, there are going to be “a lot of tough decisions” when it comes to who starts and where.

Below I’m going to dive into what those decisions are as well as make my best guess at what the Green Bay Packers will decide to do. When it comes to the offensive line, we know two things–one is that LaFleur wants the best five on the field, and two, is that he isn’t afraid to think outside the box.

Green Bay Packers OL Decision No. 1: Lucas Patrick or Josh Myers at Center

When comparing Josh Myers to Lucas Patrick, the two things that stand out are that Myers has a much higher ceiling, but Patrick has far more experience.

Patrick has 2,641 career snaps, including nearly 1,000 of those at center, a majority of which have come this season. According to PFF ($$), Patrick hasn’t allowed a sack this season; he’s given up just 17 total pressures, and he ranks third among centers in ESPN’s run-block win rate metric. Patrick has also been playing some of his best football over the last month.

Myers has shown promise and held up well in his limited playing time, allowing no sacks and eight pressures, but that’s the thing, his playing time is very limited. As a rookie who has missed much of the season, Myers has only about 4.5 games of experience or 293 total snaps.

While young offensive linemen such as Jon Runyan and Royce Newman have been able to endure some of their growing pains during the regular season, for Myers, any ups and downs are going to come in the playoffs where mistakes are typically magnified.

However, with that said, as I previously mentioned, LaFleur stays true to playing who he believes his best five offensive linemen are, and I believe that includes Myers.

Verdict: Josh Myers will start at center