It's just one practice -- and not even a real one. Not a high-stakes playoff tune-up. Not a key regular season session before a big divisional game. Not even a training camp battle. It was just one practice during the first of the Packers' Organized Team Activities.
But it's hard not to think the starting gun has sounded for one of the most intense and unusual roster battles for this year's Packers team.
The headline of yesterday's practice was Elgton Jenkins' absence. He's been one of the Packers' best offensive linemen for half a decade and has been indisputably their most versatile, but miffed about his contract, he's nowhere to be seen.
That he'd forego half a million dollars to make a point is an interesting enough story for May, but it was the B-side to that story that caught my attention. In Jenkins' absence, Jacob Monk took first team reps at center and guard, rotating between those two spots with Sean Rhyan. For one practice, at least -- again, not even a particularly notable one -- Jacob Monk was the Packers' sixth offensive lineman.
That's an interesting point of evidence in what could be the battle of the summer. The rise and fall of various edge rushers will be worth watching, but the offensive line tilt is worth your attention purely because it's a numbers battle more than a position one.
The Packers' presumptive starting five lineman are all assured of a roster spot. Outside of a serious injury or completely unexpected trade, Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom will all be on the Packers' Week 1 roster.
The same goes for Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton, first and second round picks in the 2024 and 2025 drafts, respectively. There's no world where they're not on the roster this season.
If the Packers keep nine offensive linemen, that means seven of the spots are already stone cold locks. Nine is a slightly conservative estimate; the Packers had ten linemen take a snap on either offense or special teams last year. But with needs elsewhere, it's not clear if the Packers will go that heavy on linemen again. Even if a tenth lineman makes it out of camp, it'd be a pretty tenuously held victory.
Who's fighting for those two theoretical offensive line spots, then? Jacob Monk, a 2024 fifth round pick, seems to have the inside track early on, and his ascension is noteworthy because it puts him ahead of both Travis Glover (another 2024 draft pick) and Kadeem Telfort (a 2023 undrafted free agent who's been in the developmental pipeline ever since). There's also Donovan Jennings, a 2024 UDFA prospect who signed for a fairly unusual amount of guaranteed money (at least as far as the Packers are concerned).
And that's not all! We haven't even mentioned 2025 seventh round pick John Williams, a converted college tackle who could be in the mix at guard, or any of the 2025 undrafted free agents, any of whom could make a run similar to Telfort.
It's possible there are as many as eight players fighting for two spots on the 53-man roster, one of which has already been spoken for fairly forcefully by Monk. Suffice it to say, the Packers should have plenty of offensive line depth this year. Figuring out how to get it all on the roster and the practice squad is going to be the challenge.