GREEN BAY, Wis. – A team is only as good as its quarterback.

A quarterback is only as good as his offensive line.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is good. His offensive line – at least during Sunday’s 39-22 loss to the Minnesota Vikings – is not.

For years, Aaron Rodgers enjoyed some of the best offensive line play in the NFL. Through brilliant drafting by then-general manager Ted Thompson and superb development by then-offensive line coach James Campen, Rodgers had the time and protection to dice up defenses for four NFL MVP awards.

Few teams, if any, had the dominance of tackles David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, guards T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton, and center Corey Linsley. 

But the creep slowly kicked in. While the Packers struck gold with Elgton Jenkins in the second round in 2019 and Zach Bako-Bewele in the fourth round in 2022, Lane Taylor and Jon Runyan weren’t Lang and Sitton. Billy Turner was a good veteran signing but wasn’t Bulaga. Second-round center Josh Myers, the hand-picked successor to Linsley, and fourth-round guard Royce Newman failed to meet expectations. 

So, general manager Brian Gutekunst went to work. In the first round of the 2024 draft, he selected Jordan Morgan to be Jordan Love’s blind-side protector. He tacked on Jacob Monk in the fifth round and Travis Glover in the sixth round.

In 2025, he made three big moves. First, he signed guard Aaron Banks to a mind-boggling four-year, $77 million contract in free agency. That signing brought upon the second move, which was shifting Jenkins, a Pro Bowl guard, to center. Third, he used a second-round draft pick on Anthony Belton. For good measure, he added John Williams in the seventh round.

For years, it seemed like every line move made by the Packers turned to gold. Now, it’s mostly fool’s gold.

It was organizational malpractice to waste the first two years of Morgan’s rookie contract on him playing right guard or being the utilityman. So, the third-year player made his second career start at his preferred position on Sunday at Minnesota. Maybe he’ll be good – or at least better than he was against the Vikings – but who knows.

It was organizational malpractice to sign Banks to a colossal contract; the $19.25 million average ranks ninth among guards. Based on what? His last three seasons in San Francisco, when he started 43 of a possible 51 games and never was a dominant force? The signing didn’t make sense at the time and it doesn’t make sense now.

It was organizational malpractice to choose Banks over Jenkins, who was shifted to center in 2025 and released in March. 

It’s been organizational malpractice to draft Anthony Belton and not let him get settled. A left tackle in college, he played both tackle spots during his rookie training camp but got shifted inside to guard at midseason. Now, after a mid-camp demotion, he’s back to tackle. 

At this rate, half of his rookie contract will have gone down the drain with no clear idea of his role or if he can become a starter. (If the Packers wanted a guard, they could have taken young Lions standout Tate Ratledge, who was picked four picks later in the second round.)

So, on Sunday at the pressure cooker that is U.S. Bank Stadium, the Packers lined up with:

Jordan Morgan at left tackle. He had made one regular-season start at the position.

Donovan Jennings at left guard. He got the start with Banks inactive with a knee injury. Before Sunday, the 2024 undrafted free agent had played six snaps on offense in his career, but the coaches went with him over rookie Jager Burton.

Sean Rhyan at center. As a third-round pick in 2022, he was always good enough to play at guard but never good enough to keep the job. So, he got thrown into the fire at center last year when Jenkins was injured and showed enough promise to earn a three-year, $33 million contract at the start of free agency. With eight career starts (including playoffs), he ranks eighth at the position with an $11 million average. 

Jacob Monk at right guard. A fifth-round pick in 2024, his only career start before Sunday was at center against the Vikings in last year’s finale.

Zach Bako-Bewele at right tackle. The Packers made him one of the highest-paid linemen in the NFL, only for the premier blocker to suffer a knee injury late last season that required offseason surgery. The player who should be the reliable foundation of this new offensive line struggled alongside everyone else on Sunday. That’s obviously not Gutekunst’s fault but it’s a major problem. 

It all added up to Love getting clobbered with alarming frequency.

“I saw some good things and I saw some of the things we have to clean up,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “What’s disappointing is we had a few protection busts that absolutely should not and cannot happen. Especially, we knew that was the challenge going in. We knew they were going to give you some tough looks. That’s the toughest test that you’re going to face Week 1 is to play that defense in that environment. 

“Like I said, I thought there was some really good stuff, but when your quarterback gets hit 15 times or whatever it is, that’s too many times. All in all, there were some things we could do schematically that we’ve got to do a better job with, and then there are some things where we have to go and execute. We have to have everybody on the same page if you want to give yourself a chance.”

Love wasn’t given much of a chance. He was pressured on 23 dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Only the Saints’ Tyler Shough (26) was pressured more often, but that came on 18 additional dropbacks. By dropback percentage, Love’s 50.0 pressure rate was eclipsed by only the Colts’ Daniel Jones (52.9).

It’s not as if Gutekunst has blown off the position. Dating to the 2020 draft, he has drafted 15 offensive linemen over the past seven years. Only the Patriots (17) have drafted more. Plus, Gutekunst signed Banks and traded for Darian Kinnard. He’s paid Bako-Bewele, Banks and Rhyan, and used premium draft capital on Morgan and Belton.

And yet, here they are, with their quarterback being treated like a pinata. Love was hit a career-high 15 times, according to the official league stats. No other quarterback reached double-digits.

Imagine, for a moment, that the Packers drafted Morgan and let him play. He’d either be a more advanced starter or replaced. Imagine if they hadn’t signed Banks – that money could have been used elsewhere – and not messed with Jenkins. Imagine if they had drafted Creed Humphrey instead of Myers. Imagine if they had drafted Ratledge instead of Belton. Or they signed Wisconsin native Kevin Zeitler.

It’s been organizational mismanagement, a combination of player selection, player development and player usage, that has the Packers in this predicament. An offense is only as good as its offensive line. The Packers’ offensive line wasn’t good enough against the Vikings, so the offense wasn’t good enough, either. 

If the Packers can’t figure it out – and fast – Love might not get through the season. If Love goes down for any significant period of time, we can start the next jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none line prospect.

Week 1 Packers overreactions are up! The season debut features coaching, officiating and the panic button. ⬇️https://t.co/XXoTw4NXjc

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 14, 2026

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