The 90 to 1 Green Bay Packers roster countdown: No. 37 – Elgton Jenkins
The Green Bay Packers, and their 90 players on the roster, are in the midst of their first training camp under coach Matt LaFleur. In an annual tradition from my 11 years at Packer Report, I rank the players in order of importance from No. 90 to No. 1. This isn’t just a listing of the team’s best players. Our rankings take into account talent, importance of the position, depth at the position, salary and draft history. More than the ranking, we hope you learn something about each player. (Note: The start of this series can be found with my former employer.)
No. 37: G/C Elgton Jenkins ($1,230,389 cap)
How good could Elgton Jenkins potentially be?
Consider this memory from Marcus Johnson, Jenkins’ position coach at Mississippi State and a 53-game veteran of the NFL.
“Early in camp, I remember one time I put Elgton at right tackle against Montez Sweat,” Johnson, in Packer Report’s annual Coachspeak series, said of the all-SEC pass rusher who was a first-round pick by Washington. “He got to his spot so fast – we know how freaky of an athlete that Montez Sweat is – but he got to his spot so fast it was almost like he was waiting on him. He stoned him right there at the line of scrimmage. Then I put him at right tackle against Chauncey Rivers, who will be a pretty good pass rusher for us this season, and it was the same thing. He looked like a natural. Then I remember playing him at left guard a bunch during bowl-game preparation and it was like he’d been there before. He’s a very impressive young man with God-given abilities and genetics and DNA.”
That’s why general manager Brian Gutekunst used a second-round pick on Jenkins.
Jenkins made a solid first impression during the offseason practices. Of course, when it comes to line play, nothing matters until the rough-and-tumble work begins. For Jenkins and Co., that meant waiting for the first padded practice. After a slow start, Jenkins picked up steam and seemed to gain confidence. After winning one one-on-one pass-protection rep, he gave his opponent one last shove and knocked him on his butt. Anchored at guard throughout the offseason practices, he started getting some center snaps.
“You never know what’s going to happen, who you’re going to have each and every week,” coach Matt LaFleur said of his reasoning. “I think ideally you’d like to play the same five all 16 games. Last year I think we had the same five of ours maybe not even half the games. So it’s just something we’re going to keep working in to each of those guys just to make sure we feel comfortable with whatever combination is out there.”
As a rookie, Jenkins could potentially challenge Lane Taylor for the starting job at left guard. Jenkins, obviously, was hand-picked for LaFleur’s zone-blocking scheme. Taylor, obviously, was not – and he’s coming off a poor third season as a starter. If nothing else, Jenkins could be the No. 1 backup at all three interior spots and the unit’s sixth man.
