After two years of musical chairs along the offensive line, playing every position but his natural one, Jordan Morgan is finally getting his opportunity at a familiar spot. With Rasheed Walker gone, Morgan will settle in at left tackle.
Take offseason programs with a grain of salt. Still, if they are any sign of what’s to come, buy your Jordan Morgan stock now.
The Packers selected Morgan with the 25th-overall pick in 2024, when the fleet-of-foot left tackle was coming off back-to-back First-Team All-Conference selections. Naturally, the assumption would be that Morgan would plug in at left tackle early.
It never panned out that way.
Morgan started one game as a rookie and 12 games in his sophomore campaign a year ago. Seven of those starts came at right guard, two more at left guard, one at right tackle, and a final at his natural spot, left tackle. There’s an asterisk next to the left tackle start because it came in Week 18 in a meaningless game for the Packers when they rested most of their starters.
He never fully grasped the right guard gig. In his defense, it was foreign territory for the former Arizona product. Instead of complaining, Morgan kept his head down and kept grinding to find solutions at new positions. All the while, many fans wondered when he would get a crack at the position he had excelled at in college.
The struggles at guard specifically were hard to ignore, and Morgan didn’t shy away from any criticism that came along the way.
Playing those other positions for the first time in my life — and I’ve got to play at a professional level — it’s just … I mean, when you’re not good at it, it’s hard on you mentally, obviously. And when you want to be good and you want to be a perfectionist, it’s really hard…. So, those first two years, it was a struggle for me — for sure.
Now, after a summer back at left tackle, and for the first time at the NFL level in a full-time role, Morgan has looked as comfortable as ever. Yes, it’s just OTAs and not real regular-season action, but seeing this version of Morgan is exciting and validating. His stock is soaring as he enters training camp in late July.
Versatility is often the name of the game in Green Bay, especially on the offensive line. There are drawbacks to this approach, though, and Morgan’s experience perhaps best illustrates them.
Had the Packers allowed Morgan to settle in at left tackle immediately, what would he look like entering Year 3? Walker earned the right to start. Still, trying to slide Morgan around elsewhere and do everything but focus on being the best left tackle possible didn’t exactly play out the way the Packers had hoped.
Teammates, including quarterback Jordan Love and fellow offensive lineman Aaron Banks, have already seen a different player in Morgan this summer.
“J-Mo, since we got back, he’s looked good,” Love said. “He’s put in the work throughout the offseason, just working out, getting that strength right. For him, I think it’ll be great to be able to get him settled in at left tackle.”
Banks is glad to see Morgan finally be able to focus on one position.
“It’s really good to see him staying at one spot,” Banks said. “He can really progress there. J-Mo’s a left tackle, through and through. That’s his spot. He’s the most comfortable there. He looks the most natural there.”
With Morgan at left tackle, second-year lineman Anthony Belton will don the cap that Morgan wore the past two years. Belton starred at North Carolina State at left tackle, but will likely be Green Bay’s starting right guard this year. Again, it’s another case of a guy drafted early by the Packers on the offensive line learning a brand new position.
As for Jordan Morgan going back to left tackle? Well, he sounds giddy as ever to get things rolling.
“It feels good. It feels really good,” Morgan said. “I finally get the spot that I like, that they know I’m good at, and that they drafted me at.”
