GREEN BAY — Elgton Jenkins has been selected to two Pro Bowls as a left guard. He has played all five positions on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line during his seven seasons. And he is the unquestioned leader in the team’s offensive line meeting room.

And three games into the 2025 season at his new full-time position — center — Jenkins performance has been … well, let Jenkins tell it.

“I feel like I’ve played like [expletive], honestly,” Jenkins said after practice Wednesday as the Packers (2-1) turned their attention to Sunday night’s prime-time road matchup with the Dallas Cowboys (1-2) following an ugly loss to the Cleveland Browns.

“Like, I can play a lot better — a lot of things, a lot of small detail things that I can fix, overall. But I just feel like I’ve played like [expletive]. And I’ve definitely got to play better moving forward.”

Pro Football Focus’ grading system certainly backs Jenkins’ self-assessment up. His 58.5 overall grade ranks him 32nd out of the 46 centers the site has graded, and his 44.6 grade for his performance against the Browns last Sunday reflects the three quarterback pressures and two sacks he allowed.

Considering that the Packers reshuffled their line during the offseason based on the premise of Jenkins being an All-Pro caliber center and big-money free-agent signee Aaron Banks taking over at left guard while maintaining Jenkins’ Pro Bowl-level play.

That hasn’t been the case.

“I don’t feel like I played at the level I can play at. Let me say that. And it’s more so the small things, mistakes that I wish I would have learned from in camp,” Jenkins said. “I’d rather have it happen now — especially the game that we had as a unit — [so] we can look ourselves in the mirror and be like, ‘This is not the standard, this is not how we play football,’ and make sure that don’t happen no more throughout the year.”

Asked after the first two games — leading into the Cleveland debacle — how he viewed Jenkins’ play at center, offensive line coach Luke Butkus didn’t sound like he saw Sunday’s performance coming.

“Getting him back at center, I do feel really comfortable, and he is playing well,” Butkus said. “His old bones have got to bend a little bit more, he’s got to use his hands a little bit better, but he’s the guy in that room. He is the leader of that room and he’s been playing well. Playing physical, yes, but communicating as well.”

Jenkins has surprisingly struggled in pass protection, which had long been one of his strengths. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s allowed two sacks, one QB hit, two hurries, and five pressures for a 51.5 pass-blocking grade, which ranks 164th among 228 eligible linemen.

Jenkins’ diagnosis of his pass-protection issues? His defensive line teammates have always told him that he is among the most aggressive pass-protectors they’ve ever seen, attacking instead of sitting back and absorbing pass-rush moves.

At center, that approach has proven to be his downfall, he said — and it’s the thing he must change moving forward, starting Sunday night against Dallas.

“I hate giving up sacks. That’s one of the worst things ever,” Jenkins said. “I’ve got to be better with my technique. That’s really what it comes down to. I can’t be as aggressive as I was at guard. I’ve got to be able to get back, I’ve got to be able to see everything. Obviously, it cost me. I wish it didn’t, but it did.

“When it bites you in the ass, then you [think], ‘OK, let me just really listen to the things people are saying.’ I’ve always been aggressive in my pass pro, but at center, you can’t always do that all the time. Because the defense will use it to their advantage.

“Like I said, it happened. I’m glad it happened early on. So I can fix those things and moving forward, hopefully it don’t happen anymore.”

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