Seemingly Endless OL Combinations for Green Bay Packers this Summer
By Paul Bretl
Versatility is the hallmark of this Green Bay Packers offensive line and a very clear trait that Brian Gutekunst and Co. look for when in the draft.
All things considered, this Green Bay Packers offensive line held up well last season with all of the injuries that took place, but there is certainly room for improvement as well. The run game wasn’t as effective as it was in 2020, and there was more of a reliance on the quick passing game as well as tight ends helping out with blocking.
With this group getting healthy — hopefully — along with Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and Royce Newman having that experience and entering their second seasons, as well as the additions of Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker to add some competition–we should see this unit improve in 2022 just for those reasons alone.
With the versatility of this group, we are going to see a lot of different offensive line combinations this summer from the Green Bay Packers.
But what that starting five is going to look like come Week 1 is still a bit of an unknown. If healthy, David Bakhtiari will be at left tackle, and while I would consider Runyan and Myers the favorites for the left guard and center roles, I do believe that playing time will still have to be earned. We also don’t know when Elgton Jenkins will be available and both right guard and right tackle appear up for grabs.
As Matt LaFleur often says, it’s about putting the best five offensive linemen on the field. And to do that, because of the versatility that this collective group of players has, there is going to be a lot of mixing and matching during training camp and the preseason to find out who those five are.
Through OTAs, we’ve already seen Yosh Nijman playing left tackle, and we know a move to right tackle may be in his future as well. Newman has played both right guard and right tackle positions in recent practices, while Cole Van Lanen has started each practice at right tackle, and we know he has the ability to play inside as well.
Runyan can play either guard position. Josh Myers and Jake Hanson can both play either guard or center. Rhyan will likely get looks at right tackle as well as either guard position, and Tom has the potential to line up at all five positions. Even Walker, who may be viewed strictly as a tackle, could end up taking some snaps at guard, which is where some draft analysts believe he could be best suited.
You get the idea; like a telephone number, the combinations are seemingly endless for LaFleur as he could look like a mad scientist on the field this summer with all of the possible offensive line variations that he could put out there in an effort to find his best five. And I don’t doubt that he will take advantage of this flexibility to see who fits best and where.
To some degree, we should also expect the unexpected as well. I’m not sure that there were many who thought that Nijman would get the start in Week 3 last season against San Francisco, while in the playoffs, keeping Dennis Kelly at right tackle and moving Billy Turner to left tackle was another move that caught many off guard.