Heading into a football season, many coaches like to give a single word to be a theme for the upcoming year. Something to truly embody and to keep in mind when you’re tired, down, etc. If I had to give the Green Bay Packers a single word to be the theme of this offseason, it would be “uncertainty.” This word applies to many things, and the least of which is the starting offensive line.
Day 2 of voluntary OTAs gave us a glimpse into what the Week 1 starting Packers offensive line could be.
Potential Week 1 Packers Offensive Line
Obviously, David Bakhtiari tore his ACL during the end of last season. Everything is pointing towards him being on schedule with his injury recovery. Still, he almost certainly will not be ready to start this season.
Luckily, the Packers have a Swiss Army knife of a human in Elgton Jenkins. With zero bias, Jenkins could be all-pro at any position along the offensive line, if he started at that position for a full season. So, with not only versatility, but top talent in Jenkins, the Packers are able to be creative with their starting offensive line, if need be.
On Tuesday, it was interesting to see who the Packers had as their starting offensive line.
Along with this group, rookie fourth-round pick Royce Newman also took snaps with the starters at right guard.
Should Packer Fans Be Worried About This OL?
Uh, yeah. I think Adam Stenavich, the Packers offensive line coach, has done well with his scheme and teaching his young guys over the past couple years. However, we can pretty quickly point out some red flags here.
Let’s pretend Jordan Love is the Week 1 starter. Yes, the Packers are already doomed, but this grouping ahead of him would make matters worse. It would be a rookie center snapping to a first-year quarterback. Alongside the rookie center, who did not read defenses well in college, would be a second-year sixth-round player in Jon Runyan. Then, either Lucas Patrick or another rookie guard.
Josh Myers has too many mental and technical mistakes to be a Day 1 starter, usually. If Green Bay is adamant about starting him, which it seems like they are, it would be wise to pair him next to experience. Patrick very clearly should be the guard choice. But even still, defensive coordinators will love to run stunts on the interior of this line. The communication will be lacking and they will get Myers and Runyan to whiff on just about everything.
There’s many good things to say about Aaron Rodgers’ game, but one of his greatest strengths (which is never talked about) is his ability to not only maneuver the pocket, but set up his linemen mid-play. That skillset will be desperately needed with this group. Please come back, Aaron. We all know Gute is a stooge.
