What Happened to the Green Bay Packers’ Offensive Line?

For the better part of the last few seasons, the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line has been one of the team’s strongest units, but that wasn’t the case in 2025.

As an offseason rife with decisions continues, the Packers will need to quickly figure out if they can return to form in 2026 with the current group that they have.

A Lack of Talent?

One of the main criticisms of the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line this past season was an assumed lack of talent, and while the group certainly underperformed compared to past marks, I don’t think that the unit is being neglected.

The Packers line has ranked top ten in the league in pass protection in each season that Matt LaFleur has been the head coach, at least prior to this past season, and for the most part, there’s been a lot of continuity.

Zach Tom is one of the league’s best tackles, Elgton Jenkins is a stalwart when healthy, and most of the players are very versatile.

No specific position felt below average until the group hit a wall this year.

Green Bay has even continued to make investments in regard to the front five despite their relative success, they just haven’t paid off as planned.

Last offseason, the Packers signed Aaron Banks to a four-year seventy-seven million dollar contract, and he could barely stay on the field, and when he was healthy, his performance far underplayed his contract.

The team’s two big draft additions, Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton, have been forced into action with much less preparation than Green Bay had likely hoped for, and the results have been a mixed bag.

In my opinion, the talent isn’t the issue, it’s the circumstances, but with big decisions coming regarding Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, and Elgton Jenkins’ contracts, the room might become very thin very fast.

Considering the group’s actual marquee problem in 2025, that could be very bad for the Packers.

Injury Concerns

The biggest issue with the Packers’ offensive line in 2025 was actually injuries.

For the past two seasons, Green Bay has had five offensive lineman play at least seventeen games, with the only major change coming via Sean Rhyan taking over at guard.

This past year, only one lineman played seventeen games, and that was tackle Rasheed Walker, who was arguably the Packers’ worst contributor at the position.

That loss of continuity created a situation that both the team and offensive line coach Luke Butkus weren’t ready to weather, and Green Bay suffered on the field because of it.

Youngsters Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton were forced to consistently rotate between guard and tackle, resulting in an inability to truly get their feet wet at either position, and nearly all of the veterans battled through injury.

Both Zach Tom and Aaron Banks missed significant time, and Elgton Jenkins’ season ended in week ten with a lower leg fracture.

Despite the continued investment that I mentioned earlier, Green Bay’s depth was simply not built to withstand this year’s onslaught, and I doubt that there is much that they could have done to prepare for it.

Regardless, you still have to consider if this group is one that is going to be productive and sustainable in the Packers’ current Super Bowl window.

With a lot of change on Green Bay’s coaching staff, could a replacement be coming along the line?

A New Man in Charge?

Several of the Green Bay Packers’ coaches came under fire following the the team’s late-season collapse, and one of those coaches was the head of the offensive line, Luke Butkus.

With the weight of how poorly the group performed at some points this past year, it makes sense that many fans are calling for his job, but unlike several of the other coaching positions, I don’t think that a firing is the right choice here.

Butkus has been the Packers’ offensive line coach since 2022, and in that time he has helped to develop several later-round talents who eventually became starters, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker.

The line has been mostly consistent in that time, and although it has its weaknesses, particularly when it comes to run blocking, the Packers don’t have a lot of room to maneuver when it comes to making changes within this position group.

Green Bay has far bigger needs, especially at corner, and other than a few draft picks, I’d rather see the team invest their limited capital elsewhere.

Butkus has proven to be steady at the very least, and I think he’ll be able to turn things around next season with many of the same pieces in place.

In or Out

Regardless of how the front office views the offensive line’s performance this past year, they’ll be making some tough decisions.

Elgton Jenkins is a likely cut candidate, and Rasheed Walker is probably going to get big time money elsewhere.

To see an improvement in 2026, the Packers will need better play from Aaron Banks, as well as big contributions from their younger players, as they won’t have many options at the position in free agency with the money they have available.

With a trip to the Super Bowl in mind, a return to form will be crucial.