The Green Bay Packers' offensive line woes aren't going away any time soon. If their first taste of preseason action was an omen of what's to come, general manager Brian Gutekunst should be worried and looking to make some moves.
While it's too early to overreact, this unit left plenty to be desired last season. There were high hopes for Anthony Belton ahead of his second year in the league, but he hasn't necessarily eased doubts through training camp.
The former NC State standout is running out of time to prove that he can handle things at right guard. And with Jacob Monk and rookie Jager Burton trending up, he won't have much margin for error ahead of year two.
Anthony Belton must step up or head to the bench
Truth to form, the Packers took their usual approach to offensive linemen by playing Belton out of position as a rookie. Tabbed as a left tackle in college, he was an emergency right guard late in 2025 after a string of injuries.
Unsurprisingly, given his background, he was much more efficient in pass protection. He allowed 19 pressures but didn't give up a sack on 258 pass-blocking snaps. Even so, Pro Football Focus ranked him 73rd out of 81 eligible guards with a 49.7 grade.
To his credit, he was put in a tough spot when he was thrown into the fire and had to play out of position. But now, with a full training camp to learn the ropes of the spot, he hasn't shown many signs of improvement.
He struggled mightily at Family Night, being flagged for multiple penalties and giving up a would-be sack to Barryn Sorrell. He also failed to hold his ground against rookie pass rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, making him look like the second coming of Micah Parsons.
Belton is a 6-foot-3, 336-pound physical specimen who shouldn't struggle to move grown men against their will from Point A to Point B, yet he's getting outplayed by a mid-round rookie in Jager Burton and a former roster bubble guy in Monk.
As a former second-round pick, the Packers are unlikely to give up on him so easily, and we've seen how stubborn they can be when it comes to cross-training offensive linemen who are clearly better suited to play in one spot. But with no inside track to either tackle spot unless Jordan Morgan struggles in his natural position, it's hard to feel confident with Belton at right tackle.
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