Last year the starting lineup on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line was set in stone entering the regular season. Then all hell broke loose.
It started in Week 1 with an Injury to Zach Tom. More injuries piled up, compounded by some underwhelming performances. All of that led to then-rookie Anthony Belton getting a spot start in Week 2 and a full-time starting spot at the end of November.
Could rookie Jager Burton have a similar path in 2026?
In a perfect world, the Packers would have this year’s starting five of Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Belton, and Tom all stay healthy and all perform at otherworldly levels. Unfortunately, those sorts of pie-in-the-sky expectations are rarely ever met.
Burton will start this summer in a reserve role, but his versatile ability to play center, left guard, or right guard makes him a fascinating project for the future. It’s also possible that future could be a similar path that Belton had a year ago.
Green Bay had to shuffle the offensive line around early last season. With Tom out, Belton nabbed his first start in Week 2, and it wasn’t pretty. Belton strictly played left tackle at North Carolina State, but the Packers plugged him in at right tackle. It didn’t go as hoped. Even when Belton did seize a starting position on a regular basis in late November, it was at right guard. While unconventional, given Belton’s size and resumé, there were noticeable improvements start-over-start, although the overall product still left a lot to be desired.
Now consider Burton’s situation.
Aaron Banks had a dud of a start to the 2025 season. While he did battle injuries throughout the summer and during the regular season, there weren’t many bright spots for Banks until the end of the year when he stacked up some solid performances.
Belton could work out at right guard, or the Packers could have another Jordan Morgan situation on their hands. In that scenario, Morgan is now the starting left tackle after playing that position exclusively in college. Green Bay tried multiple times to put Morgan at right guard the past couple years, but it was the old square-peg-in-a-round-hole problem. Belton might be fine at right guard, or it’s entirely plausible that the guy who also played only left tackle in college is a fit at left tackle but not at guard. In that scenario, Burton could slide in at right guard.
Then there’s the center position.
It wasn’t a fit for Elgton Jenkins last year before he suffered a season-ending injury. Rhyan slid over and was fine but by no means great. Rhyan and the Packers came to terms on a three-year deal this offseason to keep the versatile lineman around and slot him right back in at center. However, Rhyan isn’t untouchable by any stretch.
If there’s an injury anywhere on the interior of the offensive line, or if someone is just significantly underperforming, Burton could get the first call over the likes of Jacob Monk and others. It’s also worth keeping in mind what former Packers fullback John Kuhn said recently on The Tundra podcast.
Jager Burton is a guy who can play center. We know he was a center in college but he can play interior offensive line and at a spot where the Packers had problems at times last year. But if Jager Burton is a diamond in the rough, could he push Sean Rhyan? Could he potentially push Aaron Banks if he struggles again at the start of this season like he did at times last year? Sometimes you don’t know how good these offensive linemen are that the Packers get at the end or back end of the draft… If Jager Burton is a diamond in the rough like I’m hearing… watch for him to push for a starting role in the middle of this offensive line.
Just for purposes of backing up Kuhn’s point when he noted Burton’s versatility, the Kentucky product started 23 games at left guard, nine games at right guard, and 15 games at center in college. That’s a strong sample size at multiple positions, with his most recent coming at center in 2025 where he started all 12 games at the position.
The idea for Green Bay will be that of having Burton as a reserve for 2026. However, while the starting five is pretty much set in stone at this point, a lot can change from now to Week 1 and even more could change as the season unravels.
Burton needs to make sure he stays ready, just as Belton did, and to be ready to potentially be plugged in at more than one position, just like Belton was as a rookie.
