Packers are willing to endure the ups and downs to make sure their first-round rookie develops

It hasn’t been a dream rookie season for Jordan Morgan. A left tackle at college, he was a somewhat surprising first-round pick, and the Green Bay Packers established an early plan to play him at right guard in 2024. The adaptation to the new position was fine during training camp, but a shoulder injury didn’t allow him to play in the preseason and made him miss three of the last four games.

He was back against the Arizona Cardinals, though, and played a career-high number of snaps. After playing 28 offensive snaps (42%) against the Philadelphia Eagles and 20 (29%) against the Indianapolis Colts, the game he was hurt, Morgan was on the field for 38 snaps (52%) during the win over the Cardinals. That happened because the right guard rotation with Sean Rhyan is fully back, and also because Josh Myers needed to get out for some plays — the Packers moved Rhyan to left guard and Elgton Jenkins to center, allowing the rookie to focus on the right guard spot .

It wasn’t a clean performance by any means, but Morgan also showed potential and some flashes.

“There were some good things, I think there's a lot that he needs to clean up,” head coach Matt LaFleur mentioned. “It looked like a guy that hadn't played football for a while. That's just part of it. He's a young player, he's only going to get better. I think it's still important to get him in there, but there's certainly room for improvement.”

According to PFF, the game against the Cardinals was Morgan's worst performance so far. He finished it with a 49.9 grade, including 48.2 in run block and 58.9 in pass protection. Morgan gave up one pressure in 19 pass-blocking snaps. At the same time, just like LaFleur highlighted, there were some good moments.

As a rookie, especially one that missed a significant part of training camp and his first preseason, it’s natural that Jordan Morgan will have his ups and downs. But he needs to play, and while the offensive line rotation is not usual in the NFL, it’s a smart way to balance his integration on the team and making the most out of the linemen the Packers have on the roster.

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