Green Bay Packers Offseason Preview: Offensive Line

The Green Bay Packers' offensive line was much better than conventional wisdom would suggest in 2023. Here is what a perfect offseason would look like in 2024.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ offensive line is viewed as a weak link. That’s understandable with a seventh-round pick replacing All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, a rotation at right guard and Josh Myers not living up to expectations at center.

And yet the Packers were one of four teams that finished in the top 10 in rushing average and sack percentage. That’s pretty strong, especially when you consider running back Aaron Jones’ injury issues.

In Part 5 of a series, here is our perfect offseason preview for the offensive line.

The Depth Chart

The No. 1 line of left tackle Rasheed Walker, left guard Elgton Jenkins, center Josh Myers, right guard Jon Runyan and right tackle Zach Tom started the final 13 games of the regular season and both playoff games.

At a position filled across the NFL with first-round picks, the Packers got quality play from Walker as Jordan Love’s blind-side protector. While he finished the season slightly below average in ProFootballFocus.com’s pass-blocking efficiency metric, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap, he was charged with one sack over the final six games (including playoffs). He really never was a problem.

Tom is the underrated stud of the group. He doesn’t have hulking size. He doesn’t have ideal length. As a fourth-round pick, he doesn’t have pedigree. So, he tends to be ignored. But all Tom does is win against whoever’s in front of him. Of the nine edge rushers who produced at least 80 pressures, 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 games.

At guard, it was Runyan who outperformed Jenkins, at least by PFF’s numbers. Runyan was charged with two sacks and finished sixth among guards in its pass-blocking efficiency. Jenkins didn’t give up any sacks but was 14th. Neither were particularly stout as run blockers. 

Through the second half of the season, 2022 third-round pick Sean Rhyan rotated in with the free-agent-to-be Runyan. Rhyan showed power as a run blocker – the run game was 0.78 yards per carry better when he was on the field – and inconsistent footwork as a pass blocker.

Only four centers gave up more sacks than Myers (five) but he finished in the middle of the pack in pass-blocking efficiency. The Packers picked him in the second round in 2021 because of his size and ability to clear paths in the running game but that hasn’t shown up with enough consistency. He did play a team-high 1,089 (of 1,096) snaps in 2023 and stepped up his leadership.

Royce Newman started the season as the next man up at guard – he started two games for an injured Jenkins early in the season – but lost that job to Rhyan. That’s nothing new. He lost the starting job in 2021 and 2022, as well.

Oh, and David Bakhtiari is under contract, as well. When healthy, he practically can roll out of bed and block the best pass rushers in the NFL. The problem, of course, is health. After a dominating Week 1 performance at Chicago, Bakhtiari shut it down and opted for the fourth and fifth procedures on the knee he injured late in the 2020 season.

Free Agency

Yosh Nijman and Jon Runyan are headed to free agency.

Runyan has started 50 consecutive games at right guard. In a vacuum, the Packers should bring him back. He’s better than Rhyan; if he weren’t, Rhyan eventually would have pulled away in the rotation.

However, Rhyan is younger, cheaper and under contract for two more season. Plus, there’s the sizable draft investment. Unless he’s a total flop, a third-round pick has to play, plain and simple. Rhyan’s cap charge for 2024 is just shy of $1.4 million. That’s a fraction of what Runyan will get to start somewhere else in free agency.

And then there’s the curious case of Nijman, who was retained last offseason as a restricted free agent. When Bakhtiari couldn’t play in 2021 and 2022, it was Nijman to the rescue. What a tremendous insurance policy for Bakhtiari entering 2023.

Right?

Nope. Everything went wrong in 2023. First, Zach Tom beat him out at right tackle in the blink of an eye at the start of training camp. That decision might have weighed on Nijman, who then lost out to Walker for the swing-tackle job during camp. The Packers gave Nijman some snaps in a midseason rotation with Walker but he lost that role, as well.

Big Question

Will David Bakhtiari return? The Packers have cap problems and releasing him would create $21 million. So, probably not.

So, what will the Packers do at left tackle?

It’s a top-heavy draft class. One NFL executive didn’t think any of the tackles capable of being Day 1 starters would get “even close” to Green Bay’s spot at No. 25. If that’s the case, there’s a pretty good chance Walker will be the Week 1 starter in 2024. After a year of learning on the fly, how much better can the 24-year-old become?

“He grew a lot,” Elgton Jenkins said. “He’s a dog, man. He’s athletically gifted. The mindset that he comes with on Sunday or whenever we play, it’s very special to have that mindset.”

A Perfect Offseason

General manager Brian Gutekunst didn’t draft any offensive linemen last year. There’s a 99.999 percent chance that history will not be repeated.

Center Josh Myers will be entering his final season under contract and there is no backup under contract. The only backup guard is Royce Newman. The only backup tackles are Luke Tenuta, who played seven offensive snaps as a rookie and spent all of 2023 on injured reserve, Caleb Jones, who played one snap on special teams as a rookie in 2022 and didn’t play at all in 2023, and Kadeem Telfort, an undrafted rookie who spent the year on the practice squad.

A perfect offseason would include re-signing Nijman, drafting a high-upside developmental offensive tackle such as Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie, and adding a couple interior blockers. It won’t be sexy, but with three picks in the first three rounds and another in the fourth, the Packers need to beef up the line.

Perfect Packers Offseason Preview: Tight Ends