A lot of Green Bay Packers pre-season optimists are eating crow right now, perhaps none more so than the Jordan Morgan apologists. This is not the starting left tackle we envisioned. This is worse than last season's version of Rasheed Walker.
Even in a collectively improved performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Morgan surrendered more pressures, three, than the rest of the offensive line combined, per Pro Football Focus. On the season, his 50.2 overall PFF grade ranks 65th out of 69 qualified tackles.
Ironically, Morgan was arguably the Packers lineman we were least worried about entering the year, given the sadly validated injury concerns for right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele. Now he might be the weakest link in what remains a fragile starting five.
Jordan Morgan has been a problem, not a positive, on Packers offensive line
That's not an exaggeration. While Morgan struggled in Week 4, Travis Glover, of all players, stepped in as a hold-your-nose upgrade at right guard.
Laken Tomlinson provided immediate relief on the left side. Anthony Belton survived. Sean Rhyan has been the most dependable member up front, whatever that's worth. Kevin Zeitler is waiting in the wings.
As long as the Packers don't torment us with more Jacob Monk, who is managing a quad injury, Donovan Jennings, or a not-yet-ready Jager Burton, then yeah, Morgan is the reddest flag up front.
That's disappointing for a number of reasons. Morgan enjoyed a solid training camp and flashed legitimate left tackle skills in the preseason. Maybe that was more perception than reality. It sure looks that way.
Jordan Morgan hasn't justified Packers' draft investment (and probably won't)
Reality is setting in. The Packers will not, it seems, redeem the value of the first-round pick they spent on Morgan in 2024. Morgan still has time to prove his worth, but honestly that feels beside the point. Nothing suggests that a turnaround is coming.
As things stand now, that fifth-year option the Packers would have to pick up next offseason is dead in the water.
Morgan is the only first-rounder and easily the highest draft pick on the offensive line. The shift to left tackle, where Morgan played at Arizona State, was supposed to help him settle in after his struggles at guard. That hasn't been the case.
To some degree, Morgan's woes can probably be attributed to the self-feeding destruction cycle that is Green Bay's offensive line. Everyone has been mostly atrocious. Bako-Bewele is done for the year. Aaron Banks isn't healthy. There goes the veteran experience. Communication has been a huge problem.
Those circumstances do not exactly position a young offensive lineman to succeed. And yet, on a spectrum from bad to ugly, at best Morgan is somewhere in the middle. It's not entirely fair to single him out, but with new faces in the fold and a tentative sense of hope, it will be difficult not to if current trends keep up.
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