It was organizational malpractice to choose Banks over Jenkins, who was shifted to center in 2025 and released in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019s back to tackle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.)<\/p>\n
So, on Sunday at the pressure cooker that is U.S. Bank Stadium, the Packers lined up with:<\/p>\n
Jordan Morgan at left tackle. He had made one regular-season start at the position.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s finale.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s obviously not Gutekunst\u2019s fault but it\u2019s a major problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It all added up to Love getting clobbered with alarming frequency.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw some good things and I saw some of the things we have to clean up,\u201d coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. \u201cWhat\u2019s 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\u2019s the toughest test that you\u2019re going to face Week 1 is to play that defense in that environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, I thought there was some really good stuff, but when your quarterback gets hit 15 times or whatever it is, that\u2019s too many times. All in all, there were some things we could do schematically that we\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love wasn\u2019t given much of a chance. He was pressured on 23 dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Only the Saints\u2019 Tyler Shough (26) was pressured more often, but that came on 18 additional dropbacks. By dropback percentage, Love\u2019s 50.0 pressure rate was eclipsed by only the Colts\u2019 Daniel Jones (52.9).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019s paid Bako-Bewele, Banks and Rhyan, and used premium draft capital on Morgan and Belton.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Imagine, for a moment, that the Packers drafted Morgan and let him play. He\u2019d either be a more advanced starter or replaced. Imagine if they hadn\u2019t signed Banks \u2013 that money could have been used elsewhere \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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\u2019 offensive line wasn\u2019t good enough against the Vikings, so the offense wasn\u2019t good enough, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Packers can\u2019t figure it out \u2013 and fast \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
Week 1 Packers overreactions are up! The season debut features coaching, officiating and the panic button. \u2b07\ufe0fhttps:\/\/t.co\/XXoTw4NXjc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n
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