Changes needed on the Packers OL but will that actually happen?
By Paul Bretl
Is it time for an offensive line change-up for the Green Bay Packers? One could fairly easily make an argument that this should be the case, however, I still don’t expect that to happen any time soon.
The Packers have a litany of issues on the offensive side of the ball right now, all of which are contributing to their struggles. But none may be more important to fix than the offensive line woes that this team is experiencing.
What was supposed to be a strength of this offense coming into the season has instead been a weakness. Outside of their performance in Denver this past Sunday, the Packers haven’t had a run game to lean, ranking 24th in yards per carry this season with 3.8. There have been very few explosive runs and far too many times that the Green Bay running backs are getting hit in the backfield.
Without a consistent run game, it makes moving the ball on early downs difficult. The end result is the offense being in obvious passing scenarios, allowing the pass rush to pin its ears back and the defense to drop more defenders into coverage, putting more of the onus on an already inconsistent – at best – passing game. Struggles in the run game also take away the Packers’ ability to utilize play-action, where Love has been quite efficient this season.
Through three games, the Packers’ pass protection was fairly stout, but we’ve seen a rapid decline since then. Over the last three games, Jordan Love has been pressured on nearly 40 percent of his dropbacks, the ninth-highest rate in the NFL during that span. Detroit and Las Vegas have two of the better edge rushers in football on their teams, but Denver, who has had a lackluster pass rush this season, was often able to get home with only a four-man rush.
The only individual player along the offensive line that is finding regular success right now is Zach Tom at right tackle. Rasheed Walker seems to be regressing rather than progressing. Elgton Jenkins is not playing at the Pro Bowl level that, at the bare minimum, the Packers need him to be at, considering that they are without David Bakhtiari. Meanwhile, Jon Runyan and Josh Myers look like borderline starters.
A few options that the Packers could try in an effort to switch things up include starting Yosh Nijman at left tackle in place of Walker. Nijman has 814 career snaps at that position. Green Bay could also put Nijman at right tackle, where he spent much of the summer, and move Tom to center.
Really, just about anything should be in play, given this unit’s performance. However, my guess is that we won’t see any changes for the time being, and here is why as I try to put myself inside the Packers’ thought process.
For starters, continuity is important when it comes to offensive line play, and the Packers haven’t had a lot of that due to injuries. Along with not having Bakhtiari, Jenkins missed about 2.5 games as well, and there hasn’t been a lot of practice time where the preferred five on the offensive line have all been available. Even with Jenkins available for games, he’s been limited in practice and even missed this past Friday. Jon Runyan missed a practice and was limited for multiple weeks, as was Zach Tom.
On top of that, this is an evaluation year more than anything else. Of course, the Packers want to win games, but along with seeing what they have in Love, they also need to find out who they can build around moving forward. With Nijman being a free agent who doesn’t appear to be in their future plans, Green Bay may want Walker to get as many reps as possible and go through those growing pains now.
Runyan is also a free agent, and the Packers could be evaluating whether or not they want to re-sign him. Perhaps Green Bay is comfortable with what they have in Tom as a center but wants to see if he can be their right tackle of the future or if they need to invest in that position in next year’s draft.
Lastly, sticking with Tom, he is a young player who, as a rookie, was bounced around the offensive line due to injuries. He’s currently in a position where he has been quite good, allowing no sacks and just one quarterback hit this season. From a stability standpoint and letting him continue to get comfortable, Green Bay simply may not want to move him right now.
In terms of trying to figure out what the Packers have in Love, there is a lot of chaos going on around him, which makes the evaluation process all the more challenging. At this point, Green Bay should be open to just about anything when it comes to the play of the offensive line, including having offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, the former offensive line coach, spending more of this time with that unit, even if it takes away from other responsibilities that he has.
Whether it’s improved play or changes upfront are actually made, the overall performance of the offense is not going to improve if the Packers’ offensive line play does not turn things around. Understandably so, all eyes are on Love and the young pass catchers, all of whom have to play better, but success starts in the trenches, and right now, Green Bay is losing that battle regularly.