You can never have enough big guys. The Green Bay Packers spent a lot of resources in the offensive line this past offseason. Sure, it’s still fair to argue how much the Packers paid left guard Aaron Banks, but the premise of putting resources at that position group is undeniably important.
Beyond the signing of Banks, the Packers drafted Anthony Belton in the second round and traded a sixth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Darian Kinnard. That’s in addition to spending a first-round pick on Jordan Morgan last year. Last Thursday, all those moves had an impact.
Offensive line deptha
With Aaron Banks and right tackle Zach Tom sidelined due to injuries, the Packers had to play with 40% of their offensive line adjusted. It wasn’t necessarily perfect, but the backups—and the group as a whole—held up well versus the Washington Commanders.
Morgan played at left guard, his second career start—and both at that position, even though he’s practiced more at right guard and left tackle. Run blocking was an issue, but Morgan was decent in pass protection, despite giving up two pressures.
At right tackle, the Packers rotated Belton and Kinnard early on. The rookie had a costing holding penalty, and Kinnard gave up one pressure. But overall, they proved to be capable players—something extremely hard to say about many sixth and seventh offensive linemen around the league.
“Every game is going to be a little bit different in regards to how you want to attack. I thought what was pretty impressive is missing two starters, although Jordan Morgan I consider a starter as well,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after the game. “Having a new right tackle with Belton in there and Kinnard playing some, I thought our guys did a pretty good job in protection. We tried to help out that right side a little bit just to allow these guys to get their feet wet.”
Next Sunday, the Packers will have a big challenge upfront playing against Myles Garrett. Maybe, Zach Tom and Aaron Banks could be back. The Green Bay has the resources and the offensive creativity to build around multiple alternatives—even if it stresses other areas of the gameplan.
Ultimately, investing in Jordan Love’s protection was always going to be a smart call.
