The Green Bay Packers’ starting offensive line is settling in at this point in the preseason. It’s almost close enough that you could write it in pen.
With such a versatile group, the team has cross-trained its best players to find their best spots and ideal backup configurations in case of injuries. Four of the five look fully locked in: Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center, and Zach Tom at right tackle.
After Family Night, it looked like first-round rookie Jordan Morgan was the favorite for the right guard spot. However, Morgan is dealing with a shoulder injury and returned to individual drills on Tuesday. He’s been battling with third-year lineman Sean Rhyan, who used the team’s first preseason game to show he’s starting material.
Rhyan opened the game in Cleveland as Jordan Love‘s right guard, playing 15 snaps there. However, Rhyan’s day wasn’t done. He played 33 snaps at center through the rest of the game. The Packers are giving Rhyan a chance at every interior spot, and he looked very good at center. While he’s still in consideration for the starting right guard, could center be his best spot?
It’s clear at this point that the Packers are higher on starting center Josh Myers than most bloggers and fans. Throughout this offseason, we’ve looked at other center options. That includes Zach Tom, who some Packers execs think could be a Hall of Fame center, and Elgton Jenkins, who can play every spot but might be the best at center.
Myers is the starting center for at least one more season. However, the team played multiple other options there throughout the offseason, including Jenkins and Rhyan. Regardless of Myers’s long-term status, the team needs a backup plan in case of injury.
That plan will ultimately depend on how the right guard battle shakes out. It also depends on whether the team wants to move multiple players from their preferred spot in case of injury.
Rhyan and Morgan offer different backup paths if they don’t earn the starting role. Morgan trained everywhere but center this summer and might be the best option for a swing tackle. Meanwhile, the Packers see him as an interior prospect despite Rhyan being a left tackle in college like Morgan.
Although Green Bay plans to start Morgan at right guard in Week 1, it’s not a guarantee. We still don’t know if Morgan will play against the Broncos this week. Meanwhile, Rhyan will get chances to showcase his skills at both right guard and center.
Rhyan looked comfortable at center and was able to show off his best skill, his tenacious run blocking, against Cleveland. Rhyan paved the way for a solid showing for running back Emanuel Wilson, including navigating him through Cleveland defenders for a five-yard touchdown run. For his efforts, he was Andy Herman’s highest-graded offensive player (+0.85).
“It was fun. It was definitely different,” said Rhyan, who hadn’t played center since high school. “It was another chance to get out on the field and play ball. I was having fun, doing it with my boys, and putting a beating on some of them.”
The coaching staff was highly impressed with Rhyan’s performance. They said that even though he is competing for a starting position, they want him to be the primary backup for multiple positions if he’s not a starter.
“I thought he did a good job,ā offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Rhyan’s performance at center. “It’s not an easy thing. It’s pretty underrated, being able to go out there, make the calls, snap the ball to the quarterback without any exchange issues, things like that. Just being able to run the offense, I was happy with what I saw.”
Rhyan has always been a good run-blocker but needed to build consistency as a pass protector, the opposite of almost every other offensive lineman on the team. Matt LaFleur also noted the importance of working on consistency with his conditioning, and Rhyan looks better in that area after playing the second-most offensive snaps against Cleveland.
Should Morgan retain his grip on the right guard job, that would leave Rhyan, rookie Jacob Monk, and Royce Newman as the primary interior backup options. Monk is extensively experienced along the interior and can potentially fill the Lucas Patrick role in the future. As a former starter, Newman has value in knowing the offense, and he’s played in multiple spots.
However, Rhyan is already a fringe starter and shows massive potential as a center, so he’d likely be the preferred option on the interior.
Year 3 is typically when players take a big jump and find their footing. After a forgettable rookie season, Rhyan started gaining traction last season while splitting time with Jon Runyan Jr. at right guard and is now pushing for a starting spot. It would be ideal if the former third-rounder can claim a starting role. But if not, a solid year as the primary interior backup could place him in line for a potential starting job at center next season.
