The Green Bay Packers are in a much better position in terms of unanswered questions on their roster this offseason as opposed to last. For instance, the only two questions surrounding their quarterback room are how much Jordan Love will be paid on his next extension and who, between Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt, will be his backup. These are much better questions than the, “is Love going to be any good?” questions that abounded at this time last year.
There are, though, some tough questions concerning other starting spots on the roster. Last offseason, it was pretty clear that former All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari was the starter at the position. His performance in Week One against the Chicago Bears proved that, when healthy, he is still one of the best in the game.
Unfortunately, Bakhtiari was limited to just that single game due to another knee injury that required surgery. Rasheed Walker filled in as the starting left tackle for the rest of the season, but he is not being guaranteed the starting spot again in 2024.
The Green Bay Packers Are Not Committing to Rasheed Walker at Left Tackle
As fans are well-aware, the Packers used their first-round pick on offensive lineman Jordan Morgan out of Arizona. Morgan played left tackle for his entire college career and is being given a chance to compete for the starting job this year.
However, the Packers have also stated that they are going to put their best five linemen in their starting lineup. This could mean that versatile players like Zach Tom and Elgton Jenkins will certainly start, but perhaps not at the positions they played last year. Tom was the starting right tackle and Jenkins was the starting left guard.
Both Tom and Jenkins can play all five offensive line positions. Only Josh Myers, the starting center over the last few years, is limited to just one position.
That being said, PFF believes that Walker will not only win the starting job but listed him as one of their top-five breakout candidates among offensive linemen.
PFF Believes Green Bay Packers Left Tackle Rasheed Walker Will Thrive in 2024
In an article in which he names the NFL’s top-five offensive line breakout candidates, PFF’s Sam Monson lists Rasheed Walker as the first player that he thinks will have a fantastic season in 2024. He writes:
“Perhaps the most under-the-radar candidate on this list, the seventh-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft earned the starting job for the Packers last season. Early in training camp, he looked like a major work in progress but earned a solid overall grade of 66.3 and was particularly good in pass protection (74.7) in his first year of starting action.
“The Packers drafted a tackle in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft — Jordan Morgan out of Arizona — but they have a history of drafting college tackles to play guard at the next level. Morgan could theoretically push Walker for the starting spot at left tackle, but he could just as conceivably kick inside to play guard, leaving Walker to develop in his second season starting.
“Walker has outstanding size (6-foot-6 and 324 pounds) and posted just two below-average PFF game grades as a pass blocker in his first season as a starter. He will be very good next season if he can continue his progression. If he can improve his run-blocking, he could become outstanding.”
As seen above, Walker played exceptionally well in pass protection last season. This alone already makes him a valuable member of the offense and a top candidate to be the starting left tackle. The one area of his game that he (and the rest of the Packers’ offensive line, for that matter) needs to improve is his run blocking.
It should be noted, though, that Walker did not see the field much in 2022, his rookie season. Last year was the first time he got any real reps. In this way, he was a lot like Love and many other players on Green Bay’s offense. If/when he improves in 2024, he very well could end up being the next great Packers left tackle.
For More Great Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow me on Twitter at @theotherRobin19 and follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more great content. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in Wisconsin sports, click here!
