Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator and former offensive line coach Adam Stenavich has a common refrain when talking about who to start along the line: “You’ve got to get your best five guys out there in their best spots.”
Going into training camp, the offensive line will be providing plenty of intrigue in determining the starting five. David Bakhtiari is entrenched at left tackle. Elgton Jenkins has shown positional flexibility throughout the years, but he has played best as a left guard. He’s excited to focus on returning to his Pro Bowl-caliber play at the position. “It’s going to be fun, being able to have a whole season,” he said after a recent OTA practice, “a whole camp just working at one position and perfecting my craft.”
Beyond the left side, every position is more or less uncertain. However, Green Bay isn’t devoid of options. Although the Packers did not draft an offensive lineman in 2023 – the first time doing so under Brian Gutekunst’s tenure – they are currently rostering 16 offensive linemen, including Bakhtiari and Jenkins.
According to PFF, seven players received over 400 snaps at various positions along the offensive line for the Packers in 2022:
- Josh Myers (1,091)
- Jon Runyan Jr. (1,051)
- Elgton Jenkins (960)
- Yosh Nijman (756)
- David Bakhtiari (597)
- Zach Tom (489)
- Royce Newman (451)
Outside of Bakhtiari and Jenkins, Jon Runyan Jr. is the only other lineman penciled into a starting job at right guard. Last year, Runyan started out at left guard, but he flipped to the right side once Bakhtiari and Jenkins got healthy. Runyan had a solid year in 2022 and ranked 37 out of 77 qualifying guards, according to PFF. While Runyan will certainly have competition, his track record and experience starting 33 out of 34 games over the last two years likely gives him the inside track.
That leaves center and right tackle as the two spots facing the most scrutiny coming into the Packers training camp. In organized team activities, Zach Tom got the nod at right tackle and Josh Myers got the nod at center, with Yosh Nijman starting with the second team group.
We’re likely to see a number of offensive line rotations filter throughout camp. However, I believe this is where the offensive line will settle for Week 1. Next year, Nijman will be an unrestricted free agent and Bakhtiari may be a cap casualty.
I suspect the prospect of having to replace two starting tackles is something that those at 1265 Lombardi would like to avoid. One way to do that is starting to get a potential tackle of the future, Zach Tom, experience in 2023. If that were to happen, Nijman would find himself in a backup role again this year, which may ultimately be his best fit on an NFL roster.
While offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has indicated that Tom is likely to float around throughout camp, even pushing Josh Myers at center, starting him at tackle gives Tom valuable experience. Even if Myers doesn’t show improvement on 2022 to start the season, it’s still possible for Tom to shift to center during the year and let Yosh slide into right tackle should performance dictate a change.
It’ll be interesting to track the offensive line battle throughout the preseason. Stenavich has said he’s looking to “getting those best five out there that gel the best and are the most physical, that’s what I’m looking for.” I’d expect when the dust settles it’ll end up being Bakhtiari, Jenkins, Myers, Runyan, and Tom.
