Green Bay Packers: The time has come to reward T.J. Lang
T.J. Lang goes about his business on the field – seemingly without much effort.
Because of that fact, Green Bay Packers’ GM Ted Thompson shouldn’t be slow to consider bringing Lang – the free agent – back into the fold.
Letting him walk would be a mistake and would leave the Packers without their best offensive lineman.
Nobody gets by him in passing situations and he works especially well in consort with the rest of linemen on this most recent edition of Packers offensive line.
He’s not a secret to the rest of the league either. In fact, he has been considered near the top of the NFL at his position for several years.
In fact, profootballfocus.com once again rated Lang near the top of the list among all guards across the league. At the end of the 2016 season, Lang was ranked eighth by PFF.
Lang received an overall grade by PFF of 80 (92.9 pass blocking and 76.9 run blocking).
Lang played on 964 total snaps in 2016.
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft, Lang is one of four starters on the Packers’ O-line who are fourth or fifth round picks. Only Bryan Bulaga, the Packers’ right tackle is a first round selection.
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Brought to Green Bay out of Eastern Michigan, the little known Lang made an impression right away. Though it wouldn’t be until his third season, 2011, that Lang would become a full-time starter, his reliability has been unquestioned. Playing on the left side his first two years as a starter, Lang made the switch to the right side without complaint three seasons ago and with the change he blossomed into one of the best in the entire league.
Up until this past season, he had missed only one game – that being in 2012.
While Sitton received the Pro Bowl nods over Lang while they were together in Green Bay, those who evaluate linemen for a living understand that Lang is as good, if not better than his teammate.
Consider, once again, Pro Football Focus … they ranked Lang third in the entire league in 2014 … one place above his buddy and partner in crime, Sitton.
Lang played 966 snaps in 2014 and had an overall rating of +23.1. His pass blocking was rated at +9.9, while being penalized just twice, allowing one three quarterback sacks, two quarterback hits and 12 quarterback hurries.
Those are some pretty phenomenal numbers for a fourth round draft pick that nobody knows anything about.
There’s a reason the Packers have had just two starting quarterbacks (with the exception of half of 2013 when Rodgers fractured his clavicle) since 1992.
Lang is one of the spokes of the wheel that has kept the team’s quarterbacks healthy over the years.
He’s also the player that Ted Thompson should have near, if not at the top of his free agent signing list.
The guy is too valuable to let walk to another team.
But Ted Thompson has pulled many surprises over the course of the past 10-plus years. If Thompson re-signs Lang, great … but if he doesn’t … that will be one of those surprises we’ll be talking about for some time.