If Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals is any indication, Jordan Morgan may finally be settling into a more permanent role on the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line.
Morgan made his first career start at right guard against the Bengals, replacing Sean Rhyan, who had started the first four games. The Packers reverted to rotating both players in between drives, something they did in 2024 when Morgan was still getting acclimated as a rookie.
However, what was surprising on Sunday was the snap discrepancy between the two players. Morgan played 49 offensive snaps to Rhyan’s 12, and the situation will remain fluid for the foreseeable future.
“It’s going to be a competitive situation from here on out, and that’s true with every position,” Matt LaFleur said postgame. “I know there’s some positions where you know who’s going to be the guy that’s playing. Those guys have played a lot of ball. Sean Rhyan’s played a lot of football for us, and he’s been available each and every week. So, we have confidence in all of those guys to go out there and get the job done.”
Rhyan has been a reliable player for Green Bay. He started all 18 games, including one playoff game, last season, but Morgan is a former first-round pick with more upside. Had his rookie season not been cut short by a shoulder injury that required surgery, he may have been able to take over the starting right guard job full-time.
This offseason, the Packers gave Morgan more reps at left tackle, which is where he was a mainstay in college at Arizona. That allowed Rhyan to settle in at right guard.
When starters Aaron Banks and Zach Tom went down with injuries, Morgan was the one tasked with filling in at left guard and right tackle, sometimes in the same game. The results weren’t great for Morgan, who has never been able to focus on one position.
A few weeks ago, Matt LaFleur admitted they may have been spreading him too thin.
“I think there’s some merit to that, for sure,” LaFleur said back on Sept. 22. “Especially when you look at (Week 3 against the Browns) playing multiple spots in one game. I don’t think that’s easy on anybody, especially a guy who’s still a relatively young player. That’s something we’ve got to certainly look at.”
What changed?
Well, a healthy Banks and Tom returning to the lineup helped, but the team also made the conscious decision to allow Morgan to focus on right guard in preparation for the Bengals. LaFleur said they were unsure if Banks or Tom would be available, but they didn’t want Morgan playing musical chairs along the offensive line during the practice week.
“(Morgan) has moved so much throughout his time here. I didn’t feel comfortable going into the game with doing musical chairs up front throughout the whole week of practice,” said LaFleur. “I think in order for a guy to go out there and play their best, they’ve got to get the reps at that position. So, made a decision, and it was truly up in the air with some of those guys. We didn’t know if they were going to be able to go. So, it was going to be somebody else at that position, like [Darian] Kinnard at right tackle if need be, and we went with the decision to play (Morgan) at right guard.”
The decision paid off. With all of their preferred starters on the field against Cincinnati, the Packers were able to rack up their second-highest totals on the season for rushing yards (153) and total yards (409). Morgan received the best run-blocking grade of his career from Pro Football Focus and allowed just one pressure in 28 pass-blocking snaps.
Injuries could cause disruption, but it sounds like the plan is to let Morgan find his footing at right guard. What that means for Rhyan remains to be seen, but the coaches are going to do what is in the best interest of the team.
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