Wednesday May 29, 2019 the Green Bay Packers opened their second open OTA practice with some important light shed on their Offensive Line, especially rookie 2nd Round pick Elgton Jenkins, Mississippi State. As projected, Jenkins who finished college playing Center, is being trained at Guard.
It appears for now the Offensive Line will look like LT David Bakhtiari, LG Lane Taylor, C Corey Linsley, RG Billy Turner, and RT Brian Bulaga. Solid backups appear to be Lucas Patrick at Center and Jenkins at Guard. Jenkins took reps at RG with Billy Turner moving to LT with Brian Bulaga sitting out some reps. Bulaga has had issues lately with remaining healthy, so repping Jenkins and Taylor on the right side seem to make good sense. Matt LaFleur said they would work Jenkins at Center for some snaps, where he spent his final 25 collegiate starts.
The Green Bay Packers drafted Elgton, knowing he has the athleticism and versatility to be multi-positional along the line. During Free Agency the Packers picked up Billy Turner for the same reasons, athleticism and versatility. This coaching staff along with Brian Gutekunst appear to have a common themes with their team, versatility, athleticism and create positional competition. They brought in Free Agents and drafted at each position level on both sides of the ball to improve and create competition. Something that was missing lately under the previous staff.
Jenkins is anxious to showcase his skills with every opportunity that he is given. He’d like to see as many reps as possible during OTA’s, Mini Camp and Training Camp, so when the Regular Season begins the coaching staff will have an easy decision calling his number to protect 12 and open running lanes. That should and does make Aaron Rodgers very happy. His Offensive Line looks quite formidable this season.
Let’s not forget the Packers 5th Round pick in 2018 out of Washington State, Cole Madison, reported to the team this season and could also bolster the Offensive Line. The Packers were high enough on Madison to wait a whole year for him to work through personal issues. Madison is part of the team now and could provide needed depth for the Packers. We all know how one play can change the offensive line, so the more talent on the roster, the easier it will be if an injury does occur.
I for one, am very excited to see this Offensive line in action. I think it may end up being one of Aaron’s best fronts yet.
As Always, Go Pack Go
PackerGreg
PackerGreg Veteran/Go Army @DrGTP on Twitter
2 responses to “Packers Elgton Jenkins begins at Guard”
Madison is essentially a rookie this year, so in effect the Packers have nine rookie draft picks to work with, and that includes athletic offensive linemen taken in the second and fifth rounds. Add in an undrafted rookie free agent with long term potential, and it looks like a good infusion of young talent to go along with their big free agent signing. More competition for spots this year, and better depth as a result. Some players who ended up starting games last year may not make the final cut. As for starters, given Bulaga’s injury history, Jenkins in effect becomes kind of a co-starter, able to slide into the lineup with Turner moving to tackle if Bulaga goes out. Jenkins could even beat out Taylor and start from day one, and maybe it eventually ends being Madison who comes in if Bulaga goes out. Turner, Jenkins, and Madison should all make the line better, our main improvement on offense along with improving receivers.