Elgton Jenkins passed on testing free agency to sign a lucrative Packers extension, a deal that ties the Pro Bowler to Green Bay through the 2026 season and one that looks to solidify the team’s left guard spot for the foreseeable future.
The Packers entered last season with plans of moving Jenkins to right tackle — opposite a recovered David Bakhtiari, whom Jenkins had previously replaced on the left side — before shifting their younger Pro Bowl blocker back to guard. The left side of Green Bay’s offensive line — when Bakhtiari suits up, that is — is not in question. Competition will take place at other spots along the Packers’ O-line.
Although the Packers took Josh Myers in the 2021 second round and have used him as a starter in all 23 games he has played — including 17 last season — he will be challenged this year. Second-year blocker Zach Tom poses as the top challenger for both the center and right tackle spots, Matt Schneidman of The Athletic notes (subscription required).
Chosen in the fourth round out of Wake Forest, Tom started at both center and left tackle for the Demon Deacons. Bakhtiari’s issues staying on the field last season moved Tom into Green Bay’s lineup in his stead, and while a role as a super sub of sorts could end up being where Tom ends up this year, Matt LaFleur said earlier this offseason center might be the young lineman’s best spot. Pro Football Focus graded Myers as the league’s 26th-best center last season. While Myers shook off the health issues that plagued him as a rookie, the Ohio State alum will no longer be handed a gig in Green Bay.
Packers OC Adam Stenavich said (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky) Tom will also compete at right guard, though Schneidman adds Jon Runyan Jr.‘s spot is probably safer than either Myers or right tackle Yosh Nijman‘s. PFF slotted Runyan 37th among guards last season. The second-generation pro is going into a contract year. Nijman played 555 right tackle snaps for the Pack last season; Tom played 84. Nijman being tendered at the second-round level ($4.3M) as an RFA does illustrate Packer confidence, however. Royce Newman, who has started 22 games since his 2021 rookie year, remains on the roster as well. Newman showed rocky form last season but offers versatility in having played 100-plus snaps at guard and tackle in 2022.
PFF ranked the Packers’ O-line third in the league last season, putting the team on solid footing going into 2023. Last year featured both Bakhtiari and Jenkins rehabbing major knee injuries. Both returned in 2022. At $17M per year, Jenkins is now the NFL’s third-highest-paid guard (behind Chris Lindstrom and Quenton Nelson). Bakhtiari remains the league’s third-highest-paid tackle, at $23M per year. While Bakhtiari’s game count this year — after he missed 22 contests from 2021-22 — will play a significant role in his post-2023 Packers future, the franchise will begin its Jordan Love era with a quality foundation up front.
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