Green Bay Packers 2021 Season Review: Interior Offensive Line
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers right guard: Royce Newman
From Week 1 through his final game as a starter in Week 17, we saw Royce Newman’s development in real-time as he gained more and more experience with each passing week.
While Newman’s level of play certainly isn’t the sole contributor, it’s also not a coincidence that the offense as a whole was more effective as Newman’s miscues were reduced in the latter portion of the season.
"“Just getting experience has been the key, Newman said via SI. “Just every week, learning IDs and different fronts, how to ID that differently. I feel like I’m getting a lot better at that, just kind of seeing the whole picture, just kind of seeing what can all happen. College, the defenses, scheme-wise, are not crazy like this, so just kind of like just IDing everything and getting better at my landmarks and how I need to block a certain combo.”"
Newman finished the season allowing six sacks, although just one came after Week 9, and he also surrendered 32 pressures. Ultimately when Myers returned, Patrick slid over to right guard, and Newman became a backup.
Although he certainly improved, there was still an error or two each game where a blitz or a stunt through Newman for a loop and a free rusher found his way into the backfield–this is likely one of the biggest reasons why Matt LaFleur chose Patrick over him. While PFF’s grading system is not the be-all-end-all, by any means, it’s worth noting that out of 56 eligible guards, Newman ranked 44th last season.
I don’t know that I’d sharpie Newman into a starting role in 2022, we will have to see how the offseason and summer plays out, but he will certainly be one of the front runners at guard.