GREEN BAY – Talk of the trenches is likely filling the Packers Tailgate Tour bus this week.
Three of the six current/former players making the annual trek around Wisconsin are offensive linemen – Elgton Jenkins, Rasheed Walker and the retired Bryan Bulaga. At the same time, it’s a position group generating a lot of discussion surrounding the Packers as the NFL Draft approaches.
While a boatload of experience and quality play departed over the past month in David Bakhtiari, Jon Runyan and Yosh Nijman, the Packers are still sitting pretty good. Walker at left tackle and Sean Rhyan at right guard got their share of playing time last year, while Jenkins, center Josh Myers and right tackle Zach Tom all return in 2024.
That starting five isn’t set in stone by any means, but it’s a foundation for the Packers to work with as they study top college prospects who could be targets for one or more of Green Bay’s five draft picks in the first three rounds.
“I feel like we’re headed where we want to go,” said Jenkins before the tour bus left Lambeau Field, talking about the offensive line as a group. “There’s a lot of work that we still can do. We’ve definitely got a cornerstone of guys who’ve played a lot of football, especially last year. So I feel like we’re in a good space – really good.”
That’s thanks in large part to the development of Walker and Rhyan in their respective second seasons in 2023. Neither played as rookies but eventually earned job-sharing arrangements last season with the now-departed veterans Nijman and Runyan, and they held their own.
Walker in particular worked his way into the full-time role protecting QB Jordan Love’s blind side, impressing with his progress despite uncertainty at times as to where exactly he stood.
“He definitely approached it the right way,” Jenkins said of the quiet, hard-nosed Walker, a seventh-round draft pick from Penn State in 2022. “As we all know he grew a lot last year.
“I just feel like he matured so much. I’m excited for him moving forward. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
That said, it’s almost expected the Packers will spend a high draft pick on another young lineman to compete with Walker for the starting job (or with Rhyan, or both). Whether or not any rookies will prove ready to start, restocking the unit’s depth will be a priority regardless.
While Walker is taking nothing for…
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