While most teams struggle to field a fully competent offensive line, the Green Bay Packers have enviable depth.
Unfortunately, they’ve needed to tap into that depth early this season. With David Bakhtiari managing his lingering knee injury and Elgton Jenkins facing a knee injury as well, the left side of the Packers’ offensive line — their best half — has already missed time. It’s been next-men-up, with former seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker at left tackle and former starting guard Royce Newman manning the left guard spot.
Walker has been a pleasant surprise after breaking out during the preseason. But we’ve seen the Newman show before, and this season hasn’t looked any better. Of the group the Packers trotted out against the New Orleans Saints, Newman was the weakest link. Thankfully, Green Bay has other options. If they are truly committed to letting their young offense sink or swim and gambling on upside, than second-year Sean Rhyan should get the start over Newman while Jenkins is out.
Despite still being a fairly young player, it’s safe to say we know who Newman is at this point. He was a mostly effective starter as a rookie but lost steam every year. Green Bay has given the former Rebel every possible to chance to earn a starting position at multiple spots since his rookie season, and he hasn’t been able to excel.
Newman was a disaster at right tackle last season, and even looked lost on the field in some spots at guard. He hasn’t been noteworthy in protection and run blocking.
But even though Newman isn’t a starter, he still has value as a spot backup. The Packers are often slow to commit to playing young offensive linemen, so it wasn’t surprising to see Newman get the edge over Rhyan when Jenkins exited in Week 2. And Newman was actually effective in that game.
The Packers are committed to letting their young quarterback and offensive weapons find their rhythm, but the experienced offensive line was used to protect and elevate Jordan Love. It makes sense that they’d give the experienced player (Newman) the edge in this one area.
But Sunday’s game against the Saints gave us more of the same Newman Show we’ve seen and haven’t loved.
Newman opened his first game this season as a starter by immediately committing a false start and giving up a pressure. While the offensive line on the whole was undisciplined, Newman set the tone and was one of the worst-graded Packers offensive players.
Newman’s 50.1 PFF score was the third-lowest on the offense thanks to his below-average run-blocking ability and the four pressures allowed. Andy Herman’s grades showed a similar story, with Newman being the second-lowest-ranked offensive player, with a -1.05. On both the eye test and the analytics numbers, Newman isn’t what you want in your starter. And left guard is his best possible position.
Rhyan has come a long way since his disappointing rookie season. After making a more conscious effort about nutrition, getting into better football shape, and attacking the offseason with a fresh mindset, Rhyan climbed his way out of the bottom of the depth chart. While his preseason had ups and downs, we saw the flashes of why the Packers spent a top-100 pick on the young lineman.
It’s hard to believe that Rhyan wouldn’t at least be comparable to Newman’s level of play. That gives the Packers at least a workable floor. But Rhyan has a much higher ceiling thanks to his better athletic profile. At worst, you’re getting what you already had. At best, you get someone who could play a starting role long-term.
If Rhyan is good, it has a potential ripple effect for the offensive line. If Rhyan looks like a long-term answer at guard, which is what the Packers drafted him to be, that could lead to looking at Jenkins at center. Josh Myers has had ups and downs again, and the team did test Zach Tom with the first team at center this off-season. The Packers are generally slow to make these changes, but if Rhyan at left guard is better than Myers is at center, they could comfortably put Jenkins at center going forward. Alternatively, seeing if Rhyan can be the guy now might influence whether Jon Runyan Jr. is extended or not.
Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst have chosen to evaluate their young offensive talent this season by avoiding in veterans who would take snaps away from them. That was their philosophy with their pass catchers and backup quarterback. It makes sense to also try this philosophy on the offensive line, even if it does create a bit of risk for Jordan Love.
But I don’t see Rhyan being any worse than Newman. In a season where you’re dedicated to finding the building blocks to support your new franchise quarterback, why not roll with the high-upside, athletic player over the veteran you’ve seen plenty of?
