Paul Bretl | 4/1/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After competing and playing at right guard during his rookie season, Jordan Morgan will now have the opportunity to compete with Rasheed Walker this year for the Packers’ starting left tackle role.
“It’s going to be a great competition,” Matt LaFleur said at the annual NFL league meetings. “Him and Sheed are going to battle it out and hopefully push each other to be that much better.”
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Left tackle is Morgan’s natural position. Of the 2,404 snaps he played in college at Arizona, 2,392 of them came at left tackle, according to PFF. However, very quickly upon his arrival to Green Bay, Morgan found himself at right guard, where he competed with Sean Rhyan for playing time.
The learning curve that Morgan experienced last season was two-fold. Along with adjusting to the play speed and strength of the NFL, he was also moving from tackle to guard, where there is less time to react.
“You’ve got to be in a three-point stance a lot more,” said Morgan during training camp about the move from tackle to guard. “Everything happens quicker. You’ve got to get your hands on people quicker.”
But in addition to that, Morgan also went from playing on the left side of the offensive line to the right side, which comes with adjustments as well. In short, every movement that Morgan had grown accustomed to making had to be reversed.
“I’d say just technique,” Morgan added last the summer about playing on the right side. “I mean, the footwork and the hand placement. I’m used to punching with my left then getting out there and having to punch with my right. It’s so different and you’ve got to get used to the timing and pick up everything quicker.”
In addition to making a position change, Morgan dealt with a lingering shoulder injury as well. That injury sidelined him during training camp and kept him out of the preseason. It then eventually landed him on injured reserve.
Morgan would end up playing 186 snaps as a rookie, which included one start in Week 9. Otherwise, he was in a right guard rotation with Rhyan, who dominated much of the playing time.
If there was any doubt following last year’s draft about whether or not Walker would start at left tackle, those notions were put to bed quickly, with Walker seizing control of that job almost immediately last offseason.
On the season, Walker would surrender just three sacks and four quarterback hits, but he did give up 35 pressures. While not the be-all, end-all, Walker ranked 45th out of 87 tackles in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric, and he was 69th in run-blocking grade.
Also, not to be overlooked is the long-term component of all this. Walker is a free agent next offseason. Zach Tom is in line for a big payday, and Elgton Jenkins could be due for an extension in the next year, and Aaron Banks just got a big deal in free agency. Not everyone up front can be paid, so there is a lot of value in having a starter on a rookie deal, whether that be this year or beyond.
Competition, often along the offensive line but throughout the roster, has been a catalyst for this Packers’ team as a whole over the last two seasons, and LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst want to continue leaning into that element. Naturally, the focus is on Jordan Love and the passing game, but success starts up front with time in the pocket and having a run game to lean on.
While Walker has given the Packers stability at left tackle, there is room for improvement as well, and whether it’s fair or not, as a first-round pick, Morgan is going to get every opportunity to prove that he can start somewhere along the offensive line.
“I think Rasheed’s done a lot of really, really good things for us,” Gutekunst said. “I don’t think he necessarily needs to show anything. Like anything, you’ve got to continue to play at a high level. We’re going to have a lot of competition there. Not just at his spot, but all across the offensive line.”