Former Arizona Wildcats Star Has Solid NFL Debut With Green Bay Packers
As the Arizona Wildcats prepare for a big showdown against the Kansas State Wildcats, one of their former stars from last season made his NFL debut for the Green Bay Packers.
In the first round of the 2024 NFL draft, the Packers selected Jordan Morgan in an attempt to improve the offensive line for their young star quarterback Jordan Love, and the former Wildcats star fit the bill for them.
Green Bay started out their campaign in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles on a rare Friday night game. It was a close contest between the two talented teams in the NFC, but ultimately it was the Eagles who left victorious.
In the loss, Green Bay they saw Love hurt his knee.
While there isn’t an exact timetable for his return, he will likely be out at least a few weeks.
Even though the Packers lost and their quarterback went down with an injury, they did see some positives from their rookie offensive lineman.
Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus spoke about the performance of Morgan, as he was the highest rated rookie guard of Week 1.
“Morgan rotated at right guard with Sean Rhyan and finished his night playing 28 snaps. He allowed a quarterback hit to Jalen Carter early in the third quarter but held up well in pass protection. He showed some power in the run game, as well, as he earned two positive grades on gap-scheme runs. Morgan didn’t see any action in the preseason, but his debut performance could very well earn him more playing time moving forward.”
As expected, Morgan saw time at right guard for Green Bay.
Despite being a tackle at Arizona, the Packers have been grooming Morgan to play guard for them. Considering he missed time in camp, getting reps in Week 1 is a very encouraging sign, and he made the most of it.
Going up against Jalen Carter, formerly of the Georgia Bulldogs, was not an easy first task for Morgan, but he played well.
And even though Carter did get the best of Morgan on one play for a hit on the quarterback, he was able to showcase his potential by performing well in the running game and holding up beyond that singular moment in pass protection.
After a strong performance in Week 1, Morgan will likely see some more playing time in Week 2 for the Packers.
As he continues to get reps and gets comfortable at guard, he projects to be a solid piece up front for Green Bay.
NICK ZIEGLER