Grading the 2023 Packers: Offensive Line Led by Zach Tom
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The secret standouts for the Green Bay Packers in 2023 were the offensive linemen.
Even with high-priced former All-Pro David Bakhtiari missing most of the season following knee surgery, the Packers finished fourth in sack percentage and ninth in rushing average. The Chiefs, Bills and Dolphins were the only other teams to rank in the top 10 of both stats.
In Part 5 of our annual season-ending grades, we focus on the offensive line. As always, our grades are done on a salary-cap curve.
LT Rasheed Walker
2023 cap: $890,219. Position rank: 53rd among left tackles, according to OverTheCap.com.
Left tackle is a premium position. Of the 32 starters, 20 were first-round picks. Including Bakhtiari, 14 had salary-cap charges of more than $10 million in 2023.
The Packers got to the playoffs with a seventh-round pick making less money than most backups.
As a rookie in 2022, Walker played four snaps on special teams. But he beat out Yosh Nijman to be the swing tackle in training camp this summer, then jumped into the starting lineup after Bakhtiari was shut down after Week 1. Walker wasn’t vintage Bakhtiari but the Packers sure as heck didn’t lose any games because they couldn’t protect Jordan Love’s blind side.
According to Pro Football Focus, Walker allowed six sacks and 33 total pressures. According to its pass-blocking efficiency metric, which measures sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-protecting snap, he ranked 39th out of 57 tackles who had 50 percent playing time. In his final nine games (including playoffs) he allowed two sacks. His run blocking improved, as well. Sports Info Solutions charged him with five blown blocks (1.6 percent) and three stuffs (tackle at or behind the line). He was guilty of a team-worst nine penalties, including four false starts and three holding.
“I think he’s got a ways to go,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said when asked if Walker could be a franchise left tackle. “With these young guys, you never know how high their ceiling can be. They just got to keep improving, keep working and have that internal drive to be the best they can be. If you have those tools, you can accomplish a lot. So, I expect high things from him.”
Can the Packers do better? Yes. But they’re not under pressure to replace him, either, entering this year’s draft.
Grade: B.
LG Elgton Jenkins
2023 cap: $6,967,383. Position rank: 12th among guards, according to OverTheCap.com.
Jenkins was a Pro Bowler in 2020, suffered a torn ACL in 2021 and was a Pro Bowler again in 2022. He was shut out of postseason honors this year, but that doesn’t mean Jenkins didn’t play to his typical standard.
According to PFF, 58 guards had 50 percent playing time. Jenkins finished eighth in its pass-blocking efficiency with zero sacks and 23 total pressures. He yielded three sacks and 17 pressures in 2022. Among guards, only the Steelers’ Isaac Seumalo played more snaps without allowing a sack this year. On run plays, SIS charged him with eight blown blocks (2.3 percent) and a career-worst five stuffs (1.4 percent tackle at or behind the line). Three of his five penalties were for holding.
Jenkins, who played hurt for a big chunk of the season, has grown into a leader of the group. His steady personality helped ease the transition to Walker at left tackle. His cap charges will soar to $14.4 million in 2024, $17.6 million in 2025 and $24.8 million in 2026. A restructure seems likely to at least deal with the $5.1 million roster bonus that’s due at the start of the league-year.
Grade: B-minus.
C Josh Myers
2023 cap: $1,521,857. Position rank: 35th among centers, according to OverTheCap.com.
Through three years, it’s clear that the Packers botched the second-round decision to draft Myers over Chiefs stud Creed Humphrey. Myers is fine. He’s sharp mentally and plays with the desired physicality in the run game. He’s just not that consistent force you’d want from a premium draft pick.
Of 32 centers with 50 percent playing time, Myers ranked 18th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency with five sacks and 28 total pressures. With a similar snap count in 2022, he gave up three sacks and 13 total pressures. As a run blocker, he improved from 19 blown blocks to 13 (3.2 percent) and six stuffs to two (0.5 percent), according to SIS. The stuff rate was seventh-best among centers and just behind everyone’s favorite center, Jason Kelce. Three of his six penalties were for holding.
By draft pedigree, Myers has been a disappointment. For the price, however, Myers is a bargain.
Grade: B.
RG Jon Runyan
2023 cap: $2,786,670. Position rank: 36th among guards, according to OverTheCap.com.
Runyan could have pouted his way through the season. Instead, he was the ultimate pro.
A solid starter the past couple years, the Packers split Runyan’s snaps with 2022 third-round pick Sean Rhyan for most of the season. With Runyan entering his final year under contract, the Packers needed to see what they’ve got in Rhyan. That made sense from a team perspective, but it wasn’t ideal for Runyan as he pursued his next contract. Not once did he pout, though. At the end of the season, he was in tears thinking about how his time in Green Bay might have come to an end.
Of 58 guards with 50 percent playing time, Runyan finished seventh in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency. He allowed two sacks and 21 total pressures. That’s the strength of his game. In the run game, he allowed eight blown blocks (2.3 percent) and four stuffs (1.2 percent tackle at or behind the line). Three of his six penalties were for holding.
Grade: C-plus.
RT Zach Tom
2023 cap: $996,084. Position rank: 57th among right tackles, according to OverTheCap.com.
Tom was the 140th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the fourth-to-last selection of the fourth round. A lot of teams wish they could have a do-over.
As a rookie, Tom showed he was a steal. This year, he showed he’s simply one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. Right tackle is a hugely important position. Of the nine edge defenders with at least 80 pressures this season, six rushed from the defense’s left (or against the right tackle) at least two-thirds of the time. Tom faced them all and gave up one sack in seven total matchups.
For the season, Tom allowed two sacks and 33 total pressures. In the last seven games, he allowed zero sacks and 10 pressures. Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa – you name the rusher, they found little success against Tom. Of 57 offensive tackles with 50 percent playing time, Tom ranked 13th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency. He was guilty of only three penalties (one holding).
Tom doesn’t have elite length or athleticism. He doesn’t have an abundance of power. And yet, pass or run, Tom got the job done. SIS charged him with 10 blown blocks (2.5 percent) and two stuffs (0.5 percent) on running plays.
He earned our highest grade on the team.
Grade: A-plus.
LT David Bakhtiari
2023 cap: $21,336,249. Position rank: 3rd among left tackles, according to OverTheCap.com.
Following Week 1 at Chicago, Bakhtiari walked off the field with his helmet thrust into the air. The former All-Pro tackle, whose career had been ruined by a knee injury sustained on Dec. 31, 2020, had just dominated the Bears. Jordan Love dropped back to pass 30 times. Bakhtiari didn’t allow a single pressure.
Finally, Bakhtiari was back. Or so it seemed. Instead, Bakhtiari didn’t play another game and had another season-ending surgery in hopes of – finally – getting on the field and staying on the field.
Will he? Will it be with the Packers? The 2024 season will be his final year under contract. His cap number will inch past $40 million. That would rank eighth among quarterbacks.
It’s not Bakhtiari’s fault. It’s just a sad, sad story involving one of the best in the business having his Hall of Fame-caliber career destroyed by a freak injury.
Grade: F.
OT Yosh Nijman
2023 cap: $1,760,800. Position rank: 38th among left tackles, according to OverTheCap.com.
If Rasheed Walker was the biggest positive surprise of the season, Nijman was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Nijman had played a lot of high-level football the previous two seasons, so the Packers gave him the restricted free-agent tender of $4.304 million. Guaranteed. Given the uncertain status of Bakhtiari, it made sense.
Instead, Nijman’s quest to win the starting job at right tackle was over before it started. Perhaps that disappointment impacted his psyche altogether because Walker beat him out to be the No. 3 tackle. When Bakhtiari was done after Week 1, Walker jumped into the starting lineup at left tackle.
Nijman saw action on offense in 13 of 17 regular-season games. With Tom out with a concussion, Nijman struggled through 26 snaps against San Francisco.
During the regular season, he allowed two sacks and 10 total pressures. Had he met our 50 percent playing time threshold, he would have ranked 46th out of 58 offensive tackles in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency. He was better in the run game with two blown blocks (2.3 percent) and zero stuffs.
Nijman is headed to free agency. He swears he’d like to return.
Grade: D-plus.
RG Sean Rhyan
2023 cap: $1,145,416. Position rank: 67th among guards, according to OverTheCap.com.
Rhyan is the perfect example of how this season was never about this season. Between Runyan and Rhyan, Runyan was the more experienced and more reliable player. After all, if Rhyan had been deemed the better player, he wouldn’t have been given some snaps. He would have been given all the snaps.
But the Packers needed to see what they’ve got in the 2022 third-round pick after a horrendous rookie year that ended with a suspension. He wound up playing 183 snaps in the regular season – exactly as many as Royce Newman. Over the last four games of the regular season, he played about 30 snaps per game. Then, he logged 26 snaps against Dallas and 20 against San Francisco in the playoffs.
The results were encouraging. PFF charged him with zero sacks and five pressures in the regular season – he would have ranked 18th out of 58 guards in its pass-blocking efficiency at our 50 percent threshold – and zero sacks and three pressures in the postseason. SIS charged him with two blown blocks (2.7 percent) and one stuff (1.4 percent) in the run game, where his power was on display. He was guilty of one penalty.
According to league data, the Packers averaged 0.78 yards more running play with Rhyan in the game than when he was on the bench. That was the largest differential on the team, regardless of position. However, it was minus-1.08 in the playoffs.
Grade: C-plus.
G Royce Newman
2023 cap: $1,064,836. Position rank: 71st among guards, according to OverTheCap.com.
A fourth-round pick in 2021, Newman started 16 games as a rookie and six games in 2022. This year, he started against the Saints and Lions in Weeks 3 and 4 and wasn’t heard from again. In total, he played 183 snaps from scrimmage, with 181 of those at left guard.
He gave up one sack and 10 total pressures in pass protection, according to PFF. Had he logged the requisite 50 percent playing time, he would have ranked last among guards in its pass-blocking efficiency. He was guilty of two blown blocks (3.9 percent) and zero stuffs in the run game. According to league data, the Packers averaged 0.88 yards less per carry with Newman on the field, worst among semi-regular performers.
Assuming the Packers lose Runyan in free agency and hand the starting job to Rhyan, the Packers will need a backup guard. Will Newman get another shot?
Grade: D.
