Anthony Belton became the Green Bay Packers’ starting right guard down the stretch in 2025 because of a domino effect along the offensive guard. He was a left tackle in college, but now it looks like right guard is his new home. Suppose the Packers allow him to get comfortable there — no more sliding up and down an offensive line beset by injuries — and his technique improves a bit. Then, Belton could take quite the leap this season.
General manager Brian Gutekunst said back in February that his preference would be to let Belton focus on right guard. (Cue a collective sigh of relief from Packers fans.)
I’m really proud of him, how quickly he adapted to the inside and the physicality that he brought us. In my mind, I would love to see him stay there for a little bit just because I do think he’s so stout in there. He’s so tough to get through, he can move people, which is hard to do in this league. I just think as his comfort level grows at that position, he has a chance to be really dominant.
Green Bay has an obsession with versatile linemen who can play multiple positions. That strategy has its advantages, but it’s worth considering that it might hinder some players’ development or keep them from ever reaching their full potential. Stability also has its virtues. Perhaps that’s the necessary next step for a player who has never been dominant but has shown consistent improvement.
According to PFF, Belton’s run-block grade drastically improved as he got more reps at right guard. Was his 51.9 grade for the season in that department something to boast about? No, but his consistent grades of over 60 in a string of starts late in the season were far better than his 45.5 run block grade in his first start against the Detroit Lions. The trajectory is more telling than the final score.
The same is true of his pass blocking. Anthony Belton can win in pass protection with his size alone — he’s 6’6”, 340 lbs. He did so last year, just not as reliably as you’d like. Yeah, a guy like that has some formidable mitts, but his hand placement needs work this summer.
Belton had his fair share of head-scratching reps in pass protection early on. Still, the egregious ones seemed to fade away as the season went along. Per PFF, Belton allowed six pressures in his first start, a Week 13 win at Detroit. In the last three weeks combined — all starts at right guard — Belton allowed a combined seven quarterback pressures.
Just like his underwhelming run-block grade, Belton’s pass-block grade of 43.3 looks woeful. However, it’s the distribution of the data that tells the story. The numbers show steady progress.
And it’s not just a statistical quirk; it also passes the eye test. Watching his reps in his first start and then in his last start shows a similarly drastic change. Belton was in better rhythm and more comfortable picking up blitzes.
Belton deserves a hell of a hat tip for showing the flexibility to make the switch to right guard. Despite staying locked in at left tackle during his time in college at North Carolina State, there were immediate rumblings that the Packers could view him as a guard/tackle hybrid after using a second-round pick on him in 2025. And it was a reasonable assumption given that Green Bay still had its starting left tackle, Rasheed Walker, under contract a year ago and had just used a first-round pick on another left tackle, Jordan Morgan, the year prior.
As fate — and injuries — would have it, that’s exactly what happened. Belton played a little right tackle but mostly right guard as a rookie and really settled in. Now, even with Walker off to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, Belton is locked in at right guard while Morgan will get a chance to prove he can be a star at left tackle.
Versatility earned Anthony Belton that starting right guard spot, but now stability there could maximize his potential.
If his technique improves and he keeps getting consistent reps in the same spot on the line, there’s no doubt he could establish himself as a dominant right guard.
