The Green Bay Packers know as well as anyone how offensive line injuries can derail a season. Look no further than their playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles last January. Green Bay's hopes fell apart after Elgton Jenkins left the game, leaving unproven backups Travis Glover and Kadeem Telfort to protect Jordan Love against an elite defensive front.
It could happen again. The Packers are an injury or two away from starting Jacob Monk or Donovan Jennings in meaningful games, highlighting an offseason mistake not to strengthen the interior offensive line depth. And the Packers know it.
"It's not where we want it to be," said Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus about the team's depth along the offensive line.
Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus drops a blunt assessment on the lack of depth
Butkus put it bluntly, but also fairly.
The Packers watched the same preseason contests as the rest of us. They can see it. And it's fair to wonder whether the team will explore looking for additions on waivers once teams begin trimming their rosters. Perhaps they could even entertain a trade, although that's easier said than done, as teams don't like losing offensive line depth.
Butkus is right. The depth is a real cause for concern. Protecting Love is the No. 1 priority for this team to make a run, but once the Packers get beyond their top six, there are question marks, especially at the interior positions.
It's hard to win without reliable offensive line play. The Packers have a quality starting five and at least one dependable backup in Jordan Morgan or Rasheed Walker, depending on who wins the left tackle job.
Beyond that, it gets concerning. Rookie Anthony Belton has shown flashes of his potential, although he needs to clean up the penalties, having been called for five in Saturday's preseason contest — Matt LaFleur didn't hold back with his frustration.
But if injuries hit the guard and center positions, the Packers face trouble.
Monk and Jennings are among the team's top reserves, but they have allowed a combined one sack, two hits, and nine pressures in two preseason contests, per Pro Football Focus. They have also been called for five penalties.
And that's mostly against backup defenses. It doesn't get any easier when you're facing NFL starters who are scheming against your offense.
It's not just important to protect Love, but also to open up rushing lanes for Josh Jacobs.
It brings back painful memories of Travis Glover trying to stop the Eagles' dominant defensive front. He lacked NFL experience but was thrown into the toughest of challenges following Jenkins' exit. Glover drew three penalties on 17 snaps and quickly headed back to the bench. Kadeem Telfort didn't fare much better.
According to PFF's count, the Eagles pressured Love 18 times, sacked him twice, and hit him three times. Outside of a special 31-yard rush when Jacobs carried everyone inside Lincoln Financial Field on his back, he averaged just 2.94 yards on 17 attempts.
Like Glover and Telfort, Monk and Jennings also lack NFL experience, and their struggles in the preseason don't provide much optimism.
Butkus gave a blunt assessment of the Packers' problem. Yes, we're talking about backup positions, but they can quickly become starters, as we saw in the playoffs.
Green Bay's lack of depth derailed its postseason dreams seven months ago. The team must find a solution in the weeks ahead to prevent history from repeating itself.