{"id":36719,"date":"2025-10-29T13:54:45","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=36719"},"modified":"2025-10-29T13:54:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T13:54:45","slug":"deep-dive-exposes-the-real-reason-the-packers-have-struggled-in-one-key-area-and-what-it-will-take-to-correct-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=36719","title":{"rendered":"Deep dive exposes the real reason the Packers have struggled in one key area and what it will take to correct it"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/atozsports.com\/.image\/w_1080,q_auto:good,c_limit\/Mzk6MDAwMDAwMDAwMzAyMzI2\/usatsi_27409226.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u2019 offseason plan included a reconstruction of the offensive line. Not only in personnel, but also in terms of approach. The team gave guard\u00a0Aaron Banks a big four-year, $77 million contract\u00a0in\u00a0free agency\u00a0and\u00a0drafted Anthony Belton in the second round\u00a0in large part because they wanted big bodies upfront. Presumably, that would give the team a boost in the run game.<\/p>\n<p>In practicality, though, run blocking has been an even bigger issue in 2025 than it was a year ago \u2014 despite valuable efforts from Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson to make more than what the line actually gives them. The team went down from 23rd to 29th in run block win rate, via ESPN.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur run game\u2019s been just, there\u2019s some good moments and some not-so-good moments,\u201d head coach Matt LaFleur said after the win over the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers. \u201cUltimately, I think there\u2019s a lot of things that we\u2019ve got to do a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"why-the-run-block-hasn-t-been-good\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Why the run block hasn\u2019t been good<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">For the most part, teams don\u2019t have enough time to practice. Even though any coach in the NFL would preach development, actual development over a short period of time is hard to pull off. Players will do what they do. So the big point to explain why the Packers\u2019 run block isn\u2019t working is personnel.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to sign Banks to that big of a deal was always questionable, but his performance hasn\u2019t even been\u00a0as good as he was for the San Francisco 49ers\u00a0in 2024. But that\u2019s the problem, last season was a positive outlier for Banks \u2014 it was the only season of Banks\u2019 career where he had a PFF run block grade higher than 60. The Packers bet on a linear improvement, but it hasn\u2019t happened.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Packers&#39; run game splits in 2025 (via Sumer Sports):<\/p>\n<p>With Aaron Banks<br \/>EPA per rush: -0.034<br \/>Success rate: 42.8%<\/p>\n<p>Without Aaron Banks<br \/>EPA per rush: 0.099<br \/>Success rate: 47.7%<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wendell Ferreira (@wendellfp) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/wendellfp\/status\/1983235720597680607?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Additionally, moving\u00a0Elgton Jenkins from left guard to center\u00a0hasn\u2019t generated the expected results either. His run block grade went slightly down from 61.4 in 2024 to 59.4 through seven games in 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-pairing-4 is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-1 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid is-style-pairing-4--1\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/group\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;className&quot;:&quot;is-style-pairing-4 is-style-pairing-4--1&quot;,&quot;style&quot;:{&quot;shadow&quot;:&quot;var:preset|shadow|elevation-4&quot;},&quot;layout&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;grid&quot;,&quot;columnCount&quot;:1,&quot;minimumColumnWidth&quot;:null},&quot;tagName&quot;:&quot;div&quot;}\">\n<h2 id=\"packers-iol-run-block-grade-via-pff\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Packers\u2019 IOL run block grade (via PFF)<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\"><strong>2024<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;ordered&quot;:false,&quot;values&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Elgton Jenkins \u2013 61.4<\/li>\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Josh Myers \u2013 52.2<\/li>\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Sean Rhyan 58.4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-pairing-4 is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid is-style-pairing-4--2\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/group\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;className&quot;:&quot;is-style-pairing-4 is-style-pairing-4--2&quot;,&quot;style&quot;:{&quot;shadow&quot;:&quot;var:preset|shadow|elevation-4&quot;},&quot;layout&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;grid&quot;,&quot;columnCount&quot;:1,&quot;minimumColumnWidth&quot;:null},&quot;tagName&quot;:&quot;div&quot;}\">\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\"><strong>2025<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;ordered&quot;:false,&quot;values&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Aaron Banks \u2013 49.7<\/li>\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Elgton Jenkins \u2013 59.4<\/li>\n<li data-wp-block-name=\"core\/list-item\" data-wp-block=\"[]\">Jordan Morgan \u2013 50.7<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">Jenkins has been worse than he was last year, and Aaron Banks hasn\u2019t even played as well as former Packers center Josh Myers. So the combination on the interior is underwhelming \u2014 and while Jordan Morgan is a more effective pass-blocker than Sean Rhyan, the former third-rounder is better in the run game.<\/p>\n<p>Curiously, Rhyan is the best run blocker via PFF among the interior linemen. That\u2019s proably why he outsnapped Morgan (55 percent vs. 45 percent) against the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s technique and the ability to actually move bodies inside,\u201d Pack a Day Podcast analyst Andy Herman told A to Z Sports. \u201cThey just can\u2019t get much push. But hand placement and footwork are big issues too.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"potential-solutions\" class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-m-font-size\">Potential solutions<\/h2>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">Just like any real problem in the NFL, it\u2019s hard to solve the Packers\u2019 run blocking issues during the season. Ideally, Aaron Banks would go back to the level he was playing last season for the 49ers and Jenkins would play at the \u201cAll-Pro level\u201d that Green Bay thought he could reach.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of personnel, there are two realistic changes that could help. Rookie Anthony Belton has played primarily as a right tackle, and he\u2019s the worst run blocker of the season in Green Bay, so he\u2019s not the alternative.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">The most logical option would be playing Sean Rhyan at right guard, making Jordan Morgan compete for the left tackle spot against Rasheed Walker. That, though, would likely weaken the pass block inside.<\/p>\n<p>The other two realistic alternatives, however, include benching Aaron Banks \u2014 which is not an easy trigger to pull months after giving him that deal. The first would be putting Sean Rhyan in at center, moving Jenkins back to his original spot.<\/p>\n<p>The other is Darian Kinnard at left guard. Even though he\u2019s played all of his 120 snaps this season at right tackle, he has positional versatility and had three snaps at left guard for the\u00a0Philadelphia Eagles\u00a0last season \u2014 he\u2019s also had 187 preseason snaps at right guard. For the Packers, Kinnard has played 54 run block snaps, and his 90.1 grade is the best in the offensive line room.<\/p>\n<p data-wp-block-name=\"core\/paragraph\" data-wp-block=\"{&quot;dropCap&quot;:false}\">Matt LaFleur runs a run-centric offensive structure, and pounding the rock is what\u2019s expected to open passing lanes \u2014 even if Jordan Love doesn\u2019t need that anymore. And for it to be more efficient, the big guys upfront need to do a better job as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u2019 offseason plan included a reconstruction of the offensive line. Not only in personnel, but also in terms of approach. The team gave guard\u00a0Aaron Banks&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Deep dive exposes the real reason the Packers have struggled in one key area and what it will take to correct it - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=36719\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deep dive exposes the real reason the Packers have struggled in one key area and what it will take to correct it - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u2019 offseason plan included a reconstruction of the offensive line. 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