Paul Bretl | 8/14/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — You name it, and Sean Rhyan is being asked to do it along the Packers’ interior offensive line during training camp. Not only is Rhyan trying to win the starting right guard position, but he’s also cross-training at center and left guard as well for if he ends up being a backup.
“Right now, obviously he’s in a competition for a starting position,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich on Monday, “and the big thing for us is to get him ready at several positions in case he isn’t a starter, you want him to be a versatile backup that could play any of those three interior spots. Big camp for him, just obviously competing for that starting role at right guard, and then getting ready to be a backup, if that happens to be his role, at center and left guard.”
During the Packers’ preseason opener against Cleveland, Rhyan was on the field for 48 snaps–the second-most on the team on offense–and was tasked with filling a few different roles. He began the game at right guard with the starters while Jordan Morgan is out and then transitioned to center with the second team offense.
In 28 pass-blocking snaps across both positions, Rhyan didn’t surrender a single pressure, according to PFF. In the run game, he led the way for Emanuel Wilson on a few of his carries.
“I thought he did a good job,” added Stenavich. “It’s not an easy thing. It’s pretty underrated, being able to go out there, make the calls, snap the ball to the quarterback without any exchange issues, things like that. Just being able to run the offense. I was happy with what I saw.”
With the Packers wanting Rhyan to be able to step in at any of the interior positions at moment’s notice, he has quite a bit on his plate this summer, which to an extent, is a complement because the coaching staff believes he can handle this workload. However, for Rhyan, who of course wants to start, he doesn’t have the luxury of focusing on only one position.
In moving from guard to center, there is the added responsibilities of having to identify, call-out, and communicate any protection changes. In moving from right guard to left guard, or vice versa, the mechanics of what Rhyan has to do on a given play are flipped.
“I’m just trying to get crackerjack at both,” said Rhyan. “Trying to minimize that lag just so that I can flip both sides real quick. So that whether something happens, left, right or center, I can just be able to–they can be like ‘alright go in,’ and I don’t have to worry about ‘is this pass set gonna’–you know? Are his hips aligned? Are his hands good? It’s all of that type of stuff. Just trying to minimalize that lag.”
With the offensive line struggling through the first half of the 2023 season, the Packers resorted to a rotation at left tackle between Rasheed Walker and Yosh Nijman, as well as at right guard with Rhyan and Jon Runyan. What started out as Rhyan playing a series or two blossomed into him and Runyan splitting snaps nearly 50-50 in Week 15 against Tampa Bay, and that carried over into the playoffs.
Where Rhyan was at his best was as a run-blocker. With his size, strength, and heavy hands, he brought a different element to the Packers’ offensive line as a bit of a mauler. Rather than opening up a running lane by being in an advantageous position, Rhyan generates push and moves the defender across from him.
However, what the Packers have been wanting to see from Rhyan, both from last season and into training camp now, is the down-to-down consistency needed from a starter. And, perhaps in large part, accomplishing that starts with being in the right condition for Rhyan to bring his A-game on every rep.
“There were some good clips of him,” said Matt LaFleur about Rhyan’s play on Saturday. “Just the play style that we want to have and it’s just for him, I think he’s still a young player in terms of the amount of reps that he’s gotten in game action and there’s a lot of room to continue to grow and just make sure, I think one of his biggest things that he’s got to make sure that he’s in charge of is just the conditioning component, and making sure he stays ahead of that because when he is fresh he can be pretty good.”
We keep hearing from the coaches that Rhyan is competing at right guard with Morgan, however, from my vantage point, that isn’t how I see things.
For one, when Morgan is healthy, he has been the starting right guard in practice–there is no rotation taking place as of late. Prior to Morgan’s injury, Rhyan’s snaps with the ones came at left guard when Elgton Jenkins was on a vet rest day or at center when Josh Myers was absent for a personal matter. Instead, most of Rhyan’s work had come with the second team offense until recently with Morgan sidelined.
Rhyan has had the opportunity to showcase what he can do as the starting right guard over the last week, but the way things are trending, my guess is that he ends up as the do-it-all backup–a still very valuable role. If the Packers are dealt with an injury, I would think Rhyan would be the first option off the bench, able to play all three interior positions. And with no one taking charge of the swing tackle competition, I wouldn’t be surprised if an injury occurs at tackle Jenkins or Morgan is asked to move outside with Rhyan coming in to play one of the guard positions.
“Again, just like everybody else,” said offensive line coach Luke Butkus, “he’s embraced his role of having the versatility of playing right guard last year, a little bit of left guard the last couple years he’s been here and this camp kind of doing it all. That’s only going to help him. Sean’s a big, strong kid and showed some really great reps on Saturday. Just the consistency right now from Sean, we gotta keep going.”
While a lot is being asked of Rhyan this summer, that is again a good thing, as it shows the faith that the coaching staff has in him. For Rhyan, he’s continuing to take things day by day, playing the best football that he can, and trending in the right direction. That’s where his focus will remain and wherever the chips fall–they fall.
“Good,” said Rhyan about his performance in camp. “Constantly trending upwards. So that’s always a good thing. Just going out there every day and playing the best ball that I can. That’s all I can do.”