The injury bug has hit early this season. One unit hit the hardest is the Green Bay Packers offensive line and it’s testing their depth.
Packers Offensive Line
Stop us if you have heard this one before. The Green Bay Packers are dealing with injuries. This statement has been read a lot over the past 10 years. It seems like the Packers are constantly battling injuries. But they aren’t alone. Many NFL teams deal with this occurrence sometime during the season. Unfortunately for the Packers, the injury bug has hit early this season. One unit hit the hardest is the Green Bay Packers offensive line and it’s testing their depth.
Unlike other NFL teams, the Green Bay Packers offensive line has solid depth. But even with having solid depth, losing a starter on the offensive line is always a tough situation. A loss of a starter makes things difficult for the offensive line coach, play caller, and especially the quarterback. With Jordan Love in his first season as the Packers starting quarterback, it will put him to the test.
But if there is any team that can overcome injury issues, it’s the Packers. Not only do the Packers have solid depth, but they have the luxury of having two experienced offensive line coaches. Luke Butkus has been on the Packers coaching staff since 2019. He spent three seasons as the Packers assistant offensive line coach. In 2022, he was promoted as the head offensive line coach and is entering his second season as the person in charge. He appears to be finding his groove as the lead person in the room. Dealing with injuries isn’t new to the assistant.
To go along with Butkus, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich is no stranger to the Green Bay Packers offensive line. The Wisconsin native was the Packers offensive line coach from 2019-2021. Under his guidance, the offensive line flourished. Having him, as well as Butkus, on the staff should help deal with the Packers current injury issues. The Packers will need all the help they can get while they try to overcome injuries to their starters.
Loss of Jenkins Creates a Huge Hole at Guard.
If losing to the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t bad enough, the Packers also lost arguably their best offensive lineman. Starting left guard Elgton Jenkins suffered a sprained MCL in the game. The injury will force Jenkins to miss multiple games.
When Jenkins departed, Royce Newman came off the bench to replace Jenkins. Inserting Newman might have caught some by surprise after what they witnessed during training camp. Newman struggled, so much so that many thought he would be cut when the final cuts went down. But general manager Brian Gutekunst wasn’t ready to let go of his fourth-round pick and kept him for additional depth on the Packers offensive line.
Newman played 32 snaps against the Falcons, all at left guard. However, PFF graded him out as one of the bottom five offensive players for that game. Newman will never be at the standard that Jenkins has set as the Packers starting left guard. However, even with that caveat, the Packers are going to need him to step up his game if they are going to have success on offense.
While the Packers have solid depth at tackle, the same can’t be said for guard. Behind Newman and starting right guard Jon Runyan Jr., the top backup appears to be Sean Rhyan. Since being drafted in the third round in 2022, Rhyan has been a disappointment. The fact that he hasn’t been able to leapfrog Newman as the number three guard says a lot about him. The Packers could move starting right tackle Zach Tom to guard, but that would weaken the right tackle spot. Newman needs to play better this week against the New Orleans Saints.
Rotation at Left Tackle
Against the Falcons, the Packers were without starting left tackle David Bakhtiari. With Bakhtiari out, the Packers rotated Yosh Nijman and Rasheed Walker on the offensive line. Rotating tackles was a curious move by Butkus and head coach Matt LaFleur. It’s something you don’t often see at the NFL level. The results weren’t awful, but it does put the player in a tough situation, making it hard for either one to find a groove.
While it appears Bakhtiari will be ready to go this week, the Packers are going to need to plan ahead if the situation comes up again. In Walker’s first NFL start, it appeared that he did a solid job. He did enough that the Packers should feel confident if they need to plug him in again.
But with Walker getting the start, you have to wonder what has happened to Yosh Nijman. At one point it appeared that Nijman would be Bakhtiari’s backup. He was even considered a favorite to be the starting right tackle on the Packers offensive line, but he lost that job to second-year player Zach Tom. Now he finds himself behind not only Bakhtiari and Tom but also Walker.
Credit Gutekunst for building good depth at tackle. Not only do the Packers have Walker and Nijman, but Tom is also an option at left tackle if called upon. Plus, don’t forget about Caleb Jones. A former undrafted free agent, Jones is a mountain of a man and is capable of stepping in for Tom at right tackle if the Packers were to move him to the left side.