At the beginning of the summer Brian Gutekunst was asked whether or not there was a legitimate Packers left tackle competition brewing in camp. Gutekunst answered the question by saying there was a competition, but it would take something substantial for the team to move off Rasheed Walker. Which makes perfect sense. Rasheed has been an above average NFL tackle over most of the last two seasons, especially as a pass blocker, and he remains on a cheap rookie contract. So, most continued to logically assume that Walker would be the starter. He has just been too solid over the last two years and changing the guard at such an important position seemed like playing with fire. 

Now I don’t think anybody, Brian Gutekunst included, was prepared for how incredibly good Jordan Morgan has been this summer. I realize Rasheed Walker started this camp battle with a sizable head start. But, I think it’s time we consider that Jordan Morgan might be the best left tackle on the roster!

This clip highlights some of the notable plays in the first preseason game where Morgan didn’t get any help with his assignment. First, notice the quick feet. Morgan has always had the foot speed needed to get great depth in his pass sets. This makes it easy for him to fend off outside rushers coming from the corner or from wide nine alignments.  This is an essential skill for NFL tackles, and it’s why Morgan was a first round pick! 

Next, notice how vastly Morgan’s hand usage has improved since his college days. At Arizona, Morgan had a bad habit of exposing his chest with overly wide hand usage/placement. He’d often allow the defender to get their hands into him first and this put him at a disadvantageous position as a blocker. In this clip from the Jets game we are seeing a guy who has improved his hand placement in a major way. Throughout the preseason, Morgan has been able to consistently strike the defender first without over-extending or losing leverage.

This type of elite play is what happens when a high level athlete with first round traits is paired with great coaching and put in a situation to learn and grow as a player.

An under-discussed part of this position battle is the impact it may have on the run game. Of all the retained offensive line starters from 2024, Rasheed Walker was the worst run blocker. PFF gave Walker a 54.1 run blocking grade last year. Surprisingly, his grade was even worse on zone scheme runs. Since a majority of Green Bay’s run plays are zone schemed runs, I’d say that’s a pretty important statistic. 

Also interesting, PFF data shows the Packers have a notable tendency to run plays to the right side of the field more often than the left. When running to the B gap or C gap, the Packers were 24% more likely to run to the right side of their formation. Tendencies like this tend to make the guesswork easier for defenses, and fixing these tendencies should be a priority this offseason. 

I’d like to present Jordan Morgan as a real solution to this problem. The foot speed we highlighted earlier sets him up to be a much more natural run blocker than Walker, especially on zone runs. In college at Arizona, Morgan was used in some really fun ways as a run blocker.

My favorite was when he was used as a lead blocker for receiver screens. Morgan had an uncanny ability on these plays to fire out of his stance and get all the way out to block the corner just as the wide receiver was catching the pass. These types of plays gave space for his natural athleticism to shine. That is the athleticism that makes me think he can be a better run blocker than Walker. Morgan’s quickness will allow him to reach the outside shoulder on run blocks, or more effectively head hunt linebackers at the second level.

I realize Rasheed Walker has been an above average NFL tackle for the last two years. Those players don’t grow on trees. Walker is going to get paid an obscene amount of money next summer and he is going to deserve it, because he is a really good left tackle. But, it is my opinion that Morgan has a higher ceiling and could unlock a new level for this offense. His first round traits are impossible to ignore on the field, and he’s shown this preseason how he’s paired his traits with improved technique. Morgan is ready right now, and the Packers should give him every chance to win the starting left tackle job.