Heading into their crucial Week 16 showdown with the Chicago Bears on Saturday night, the Green Bay Packers are trying to overcome some key injuries as they try to reclaim first place in the NFC North. While injuries to star pass rusher Micah Parsons (torn left ACL) and wide receiver Christian Watson (chest) dominated headlines, tackle Zach Tom (knee) is listed as questionable for Saturday night, which has put Green Bay in a position we have seen before.
Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Thursday that the Packers are working out both Darian Kinnard and Jordan Morgan at right tackle. Silverstein said head coach Matt LaFleur did not rule out Morgan playing there, even though he has been a left tackle and right guard so far, and that it may depend on who practices better if Tom is unable to play.
The Packers have experimented with moving Morgan around on the offensive line, but it has yet to yield the desired result. After the failed right guard experiment and the better play from Anthony Belton, it would make sense for the Packers to focus on Morgan at the one position he is comfortable with, instead of trying to get anything out of him and randomly throwing him into the right tackle competition in Week 16, something J.J. Lahey of Packers Talk expressed his frustration with.
Jordan Morgan Is Not the Answer at the RT Position
There is no doubt that the injury concerns for Tom are a major blow, given his high-level play when he has been healthy. However, Belton's stock continues to rise after taking over for Morgan at RG, allowing two pressures and playing a major role in the rushing attack's average of 4.5 yards on 26 carries in a Week 14 win over the Bears, the same team they face this Saturday night.
The idea of even giving Morgan a chance at the RT position only takes away from Kinnard getting the necessary reps, as he was pretty good filling in against the Denver Broncos. Kinnard, who is questionable for Saturday night with a neck injury, came in for Tom during the Week 15 loss to Denver and allowed two pressures and a sack on 30 pass-blocking snaps, seeing his most extensive action since the Week 4 tie against the Dallas Cowboys.
It is also important to keep in mind that Morgan, the 2024 first-round pick, has not really played well at any position this season, as his subpar 54.3 Pro Football Focus overall grade would indicate. This is troubling before you even mention his three penalties and two sacks allowed. With so much at stake this late in the season, placing Morgan at another new position, putting him in direct competition against someone like Kinnard, who played well in Week 15, does not seem like the best answer.
Clearly, the skillset was there, or Green Bay would not have drafted him in the first round. However, after the RG experiment failed earlier this season and Belton clearly took that away, it is hard to see Morgan as the beneficiary in this situation, especially with Kinnard coming off one of his better showings of the season.