The Green Bay Packers had one of the NFL’s best pass-blocking offensive lines last year. They ranked third in pass-blocking grade and 11th in pass-blocking efficiency. According to Pro Football Focus, they also allowed the sixth-fewest pressures and the fifth-fewest sacks.
Green Bay’s offensive line wasn’t nearly as strong in the run game, finishing 22nd in run-blocking grade. Matt LaFleur’s creativity and play design helped mask those struggles, though, and the Packers still earned the league’s fourth-highest rushing grade. Even so, Green Bay must improve up front in the run game for the offense to take the next step in 2025.
Matt LaFleur has put on a Run Game Masterclass so far this season.
🧵Here are a few of my favorite designs: pic.twitter.com/IhGOMFuCX5
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) October 31, 2024
Still, Green Bay’s past run-blocking struggles aren’t the only concern up front. Another issue is how much the unit drops off when injuries hit on the interior, which was evident in last year’s Wild Card loss at Philadelphia. Once Elgton Jenkins went down, any realistic chance of winning quickly disappeared.
Eight months later, that issue has only grown larger.
Jenkins will be Green Bay’s starting center this year. He has four career starts at the position, allowing only two pressures and no sacks in 255 snaps. Sean Rhyan and Aaron Banks are expected to line up at guard alongside him. Both are capable starters. Still, neither has shown to be a game-changing force, or even an above-average player, at this stage of their careers.
One of the main questions on Green Bay’s line is who will back Jenkins up. He’s missed at least one game in three of the past four seasons, and Rhyan and Jacob Monk have been rotating at center in the preseason.
Rhyan has no previous experience at center in college or the NFL, while Monk has over 2,000 college snaps as a guard and more than 400 as a center, so there’s at least some foundation to build upon. However, Monk hasn’t had a strong start to the preseason, allowing four pressures, three hurries, and a sack over just 34 pass-blocking snaps.
The Packers could slide Zach Tom inside in an emergency, but he’s far more effective at right tackle — and that’s where he should stay. Getting Rhyan and Monk settled into their natural positions may be the best way to start addressing such uncertainty upfront.
The left tackle battle could also offer some insight into the future of Green Bay’s interior. It’s a two-man competition between Jordan Morgan and Rasheed Walker. Morgan has been playing left tackle this preseason. However, if Walker wins the job, Morgan could slide inside and compete with Sean Rhyan for the right guard spot.
Anthony Belton is another potential option. He’s been taking reps at right tackle this preseason, but that position belongs to Tom. Belton has the size to play on the outside, though he could see more playing time on the interior. However, his stock didn’t get a boost after committing five penalties in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 of the preseason. Still, I’d expect either Morgan or Belton to open the regular season as Green Bay’s swing tackle.
Donovan Jennings, Kadeem Telfort, Lecitus Smith, and J.J. Lippe are other players competing for an interior O-line spot. Jennings showed the most promise early in 2024, but at this point, he’s been a developmental practice squad player at best. Moreover, he had a tough game against Indianapolis on Sunday.
For what it’s worth, PFF currently has Donovan Jennings with a 9.0 pass-blocking grade.
You can’t do much worse than that.
— Felipe Reis Aceti (@Aceti_Felipe) August 16, 2025
Looking at Green Bay’s interior O-line, there’s no reliable backup behind Jenkins. The likely starting guards aren’t exactly standout players, and the depth behind them isn’t encouraging. Gutekunst may have to scour the waiver wire once preseason ends, because if any starters go down, things could get messy fast.