Versatility is one of the big reasons why the Green Bay Packers used the 25th overall pick to draft Jordan Morgan. He played left tackle in college, but is projected to potentially move inside to guard in the NFL.
Right after the selection, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he would be a part of the equation to find the best five offensive linemen. Now, the offseason activity has started for rookies, and the coaching staff has begun the process to evaluate every potential scenario.
After all, it's a quest to put together the best possible combination.
The top players
The smartest way to handle a situation like this is to analyze where the best players can be. And the best players of the Packers' offensive line are Elgton Jenkins and Zach Tom.
"I think Elgton's best position is guard or center, and then Zach seems to be pretty good on the edge at right tackle," said Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich.
That creates an interesting layer, because Jenkins at center is a possibility that hadn't been talked about much by the external public. Jenkins played 297 snaps at center in his career, all of them in 2020. Last season, he played exclusively as a left guard.
Meanwhile, despite a previous report that the Packers would prefer Tom as the center, the staff seems comfortable playing him at right tackle.
The rookie
Jordan Morgan's first shot will be at left tackle. And if that's the case when rookies and veterans start working together, he will compete with Rasheed Walker for the starting job.
"He's a natural on the edge. He looks comfortable out there. There's obviously some technique stuff we've got to clean up, just like anybody, but yeah, I'm excited to work with him and just watch him and see," Stenavich said. "I wouldn't say he's a tackle, I wouldn't say he's a guard, I just want to see where he fits best for us and with our best five out there. So that may be at tackle. It might not be. But I'm excited to work with him and you can see his athleticism when he's out there. He's a pretty talented guy."
Lineups
With those options all on the table, the Packers will test multiple scenarios. It can include Walker or Morgan at left tackle with Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom. But if the staff identifies a weaker link, they can move Morgan to guard — and that opens the possibility of taking away Josh Myers, moving Jenkins to center and Morgan to left guard, or simply replacing Rhyan with the rookie at right guard.
"Very excited about it," Stenavich added. "I think it's just a matter of putting the best group out there and there's a lot of different combinations. We'll see how it all shakes out. That's one thing we're always pretty intentional about is working guys at multiple positions to just see where they fit best. I think that's kind of what we'll be doing in OTAs and the early part of camp."
Either way, the Packers are happy with their path. It's a completely different situation than it was a year ago, when the question marks were much more significant and hard to answer.
"It's night and day. Last year, going into the draft, we had maybe three receivers on the roster. We had two tight ends on the roster. It was just one of those things where you didn't really know what direction you could go yet," the OC mentioned. "We know how good we can be, but we've got to understand that nobody's going to hand it to us in this league. Everything must be earned."
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