“That’s naturally where you’d look. That’s where he’s played his whole career,” said Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur.
When Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan was drafted by the Green Bay Packers 25th overall on Thursday, Packers fans immediately revisited Rob Demovsky’s report that the team considered returning right tackle Zach Tom a potential Hall-of-Fame center. The assumption was that Morgan could move from left tackle, where he played for the Wildcats, to right tackle, allowing Tom to push inside to center.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur has different plans.
When asked if Morgan will play left tackle for him, LaFleur stated Saturday, “That’s naturally where you’d look. That’s where he’s played his whole career.” He later mentioned that he just wants to get the best five offensive lineman on the field — the company line that general manager Brian Gutekunst has been repeating all week — but it’s at least notable that Morgan is being considered at left tackle.
Last year, the Packers rotated Rasheed Walker and Yosh Nijman at the position once it was clear that David Bakhtiari would not be returning to the field in 2023. Nijman, a 2024 free agent, has since signed with the Carolina Panthers. Ultimately, Walker was able to win that job down the stretch, playing 100 percent of the offense’s snaps in the final five games of Green Bay’s season — including the playoffs.
So what if Morgan does win the left tackle job? What does that mean for Walker? Is he going to move to right tackle, moving Tom inside to center and displacing Josh Myers? Would Walker just go to the bench? Would he compete at right guard, which appears to be the weakest position on the Packers’ offense line now that Jon Runyan Jr. has left in free agency?
It seems like there are more questions than answers. Based on what Green Bay has done in the past, you can go ahead and assume that the team will tinker with their daily “starting” lineups in practice between now and about the second week of the preseason, when they’ll finally make a decision on who they want their core five to be going into the 2024 regular season.
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