With right tackle Zach Tom still recovering from a late-season knee injury, the Green Bay Packers are getting creative in his absence. Rather than lean on Darian Kinnard, the primary backup tackle, the Packers let fifth-round rookie Jager Burton start at right guard with the ones, while they kicked presumed right guard starter and second-year tackle Anthony Belton outside to tackle.
Down a major presence on the offensive line, teams can get creative with lineups to let other players practice with the starters and to test players at other positions. That could be a matter of seeing what Burton’s best spot on the interior might be.
Or, it could be a sign that Belton’s days working at tackle are far from over. Do the Packers expect Belton to play at tackle this season, and, if so, could it slow his overall development?
Anthony Belton looked like a classic tackle-to-guard convert when the Packers drafted him. Belton played left tackle in college and is much bigger than Green Bay usually likes its tackles, but he’s agile and has great footwork for a man of his size. The Packers signed a bigger guard that offseason in Aaron Banks, and Belton looked to be a similar mold.
But Belton trained exclusively at tackle until line shakeups led to him playing at right guard, eventually becoming the preferred starter there.
“We were just having him play swing tackle, then all of a sudden we lost a bunch of guys, and it’s like, ‘Hey bud, you’ve gotta go in and play guard,’” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “He went out there against Detroit, and that was really the first week he’d ever played guard for us.”
According to Stenavich, the plan is for Anthony Belton to focus on guard. However, the Packers want to continue his training at tackle in case injuries force another mix-up.
“But I think now, just focusing on the little fundamentals, the little details, we can teach him all that stuff from a guard perspective,” Stenavich added. “I think that’ll be really good for him and his development.”
Brian Gutekunst said the same in February.
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.
Now, just a few practices into OTAs, Belton is already playing meaningful snaps at tackle.
I must add the “it’s early offseason” qualifier, and Belton swapped back to first-team right guard with Kinnard at right tackle. Still, it’s interesting to see Belton already taking tackle reps this early.
Part of it could be the “it’s summer #YOLO” element. Burton is an exciting rookie prospect capable of manning any interior spot. He might be a Day 3 rookie, but he’s already generating hype. It could simply be a matter of seeing which of those interior spots he chooses. Right now, the simplest way to get him reps is to move Belton to tackle. Kinnard only plays tackle and isn’t a preferred starter, so this only takes one move to let Burton practice at right guard.
On paper, it’s a good way to get Burton into the lineup and to cross-train Belton.
We’ll see how things shake up over the next few practices and how many tackle snaps Belton plays. Still, there are concerns about this level of cross-training.
It’s no secret the Packers love versatile offensive linemen. Ted Thompson loved turning collegiate tackles into guards. While Gutekunst hasn’t done it quite as much, it’s still in the playbook. The more spots you can play, the more likely you’ll end up in Green Bay. And considering how often offensive linemen get hurt, there’s a good reason.
But overburdening a young player with too much on their plate can be detrimental. No matter how good a player was in college, transitioning to the NFL is already difficult. Balancing multiple positions with different points of view is challenging.
It’s similar to what happened to Jordan Morgan. The Packers viewed him as another tackle-to-guard, training him at both spots but letting him compete for a guard spot as a rookie. In his second season, Morgan finally worked at his preferred left tackle position in the preseason but had to play guard for much of the season. It wasn’t great, but Morgan finally settled into a role when he was able to focus on tackle, manning the right spot in relief of Tom.
We’ll see what an offseason focused on tackle will look like for Morgan. Still, it’s fair to wonder if things would be better had the team let him grow at tackle earlier.
Green Bay could expect Belton to play more tackle than expected, as was the case with Morgan at guard last year. Tom isn’t back yet, despite his prognosis sounding good, and Morgan is far from a sure thing. If Burton looks the part and the Packers need to, there’s a world where they throw him into the lineup with Belton playing tackle if he’s up to it.
It’s good to have a contingency, but is it better than offering Anthony Belton positional stability at this stage in his career? It could be a quirk of the early offseason, or the Packers could expect Belton to play meaningful snaps at tackle in the regular season. We’ll have to see how it plays out this summer. Still, it could be in Belton’s and Green Bay’s best interest not to overwhelm Belton’s development with too much.
