The Green Bay Packers' offensive line has been the talk of the team all season, and more changes are coming after the top two center options were lost for at least the next four weeks in the space of just a few plays against Detroit.
Following a few weeks of continuity, now is an ideal time to assess the status of the individuals comprising the Packers O-line.
At tackle, Jordan Morgan is starting to play pretty good football from a pass protection standpoint. He has a snap-weighted PFF pass blocking grade of 76.1 in the last three games and is up to 70.8 for the season. For context, Rasheed Walker had a 68.6 pass block grade for the Packers last year and is down to 65.8 this season with the Panthers.
Morgan has allowed five sacks, but was not to
blame on multiple of them, including on Sunday against the Lions when it looked like a play was broken or not executed correctly by Jordan Love from the start.
There is a big blemish on his record though, which is in run blocking. Walker was never even an average run blocker, with his best grade as a Packer just 56.3, but Morgan is down at 43.4 as we approach the midpoint of the season.
While it is not vital for a left tackle to set the tone in the run game, he needs to get closer to average to help get Green Bay’s putrid rushing attack off the ground.
Anthony Belton has fared better at right tackle in that regard, but his run block grade is still only 52.2. For a player who was supposed to be a mauler, it has not exactly translated to the NFL level.
He struggled somewhat against Detroit, allowing four pressures, but had a snap-weighted pass block grade of 67.1 in the previous three games and did not allow a single pressure in two of the three. Belton is not Zach Bako-Bewele, but he has not been a problem.
The move to bring in Laken Tomlinson at left guard has worked out well, and he is the Packers’ top graded offensive lineman this season at 64.2 overall. He has allowed only five quarterback hurries, one hit and zero sacks through four games and also has a 64.5 run block grade.
Tomlinson has simply been solid, which was the hope in bringing him back to a familiar scheme – he played under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco for five years as well as Mike LaFleur with the Jets – and getting him healthy after some recent troubles in that area.
At center, it looks like it will have to be either Williams or Jager Burton for the next month, and although that is certainly cause for concern, the former held up admirably on Sunday after being thrown into the deep end.
With Tomlinson seemingly locking down the left guard spot, the most interesting position becomes right guard.
Travis Glover was given his shot against Tampa Bay and did well enough to remain in the lineup, but has given up an increasing number of pressures each week, going from one, to two, to three, to five in Detroit.
The Packers paid Kevin Zeitler a not insignificant amount of money and he is yet to play a snap. It was understandable early on after he got off the couch to sign in Green Bay, but the rubber is meeting the road now with Glover starting to struggle.
Zeitler not playing yet could mean he is still getting used to the offense or physically up to speed, the coaching staff simply wants to keep rolling with Glover (it would not be their first odd decision) or Zeitler does not look like the player he once was. Hopefully it is the first one.
Aaron Banks has been active on game days once again and even though he has traditionally been a left guard, he could still compete on the right side. The Packers have options if nothing else.
With more injuries striking, Matt LaFleur and his coaches have more shuffling to do, and on a short week before facing Carolina on Thursday Night Football.
While the ship has been somewhat steady after a nightmare first three weeks, a lot still needs to happen for this offensive line to be part of a viable postseason offense.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers offensive line stock report: Who steps up as injuries mount?
