TALL TALE: WOULD PACKERS PICK THESE LINEMEN?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers need offensive line help. They need tackles as well as interior blockers. The 2024 NFL Draft will serve as a rather interesting case study for general manager Brian Gutekunst’s methodology.

Gutekunst has drafted 10 offensive linemen since replacing Ted Thompson in 2018. Two of them have lined up primarily at offensive tackle: Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker in 2022. The other eight have lined up primarily at guard or center: Cole Madison in 2018, Elgton Jenkins in 2019, Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson and Simon Stepaniak in 2020, Josh Myers, Royce Newman and Cole Van Lanen in 2021 and Sean Rhyan in 2022.

Those 10 players have one thing in common: They are all at least 6-foot-4.

Going 10-for-10 with zero exceptions over six draft classes is a rather solid track record.

So, what does that mean – if anything – for next week’s draft?

Washington left tackle Troy Fautanu is a sure-fire first-round pick. In 2023, he was a third-team All-American and was voted the Pac-12’s best offensive lineman by the conference’s defensive linemen. He measured 6-foot-3 3/4. At that height, most teams would automatically shift him to guard, though he has the length to at least get a shot at tackle.

“He's got incredible length,” NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call on Wednesday. “So, while he's not the tallest guy in the world, he's got really, really long arms, which leads to believe he can still hang out there at tackle. I think he's got all the tackle tools.”

Fautanu is the only short tackle who is likely to get a shot at tackle in the NFL. The guard and center discussion is another matter.

At guard:

Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe is 6-foot-3 1/4.

Connecticut’s Christian Haynes is 6-foot-2 3/4.

Boston College’s Christian Mahogany is 6-foot-3 3/8.

Texas A&M’s Layden Robinson is 6-foot-3 1/2.

At center:

Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson is 6-foot-3 3/8.

West Virginia’s Zach Frazier is 6-foot-2 5/8.

Penn State’s Hunter Nourzad is 6-foot-3 1/8.

Florida’s Kingsley Eguakun is 6-foot-3 1/2.

Miami’s Matt Lee is 6-foot-3 5/8.

Duke’s Jacob Monk is 6-foot-3.

N.C. State’s Dylan McMahon is 6-foot-3 3/8.

If the Packers aren’t fully sold on Sean Rhyan as the starting right guard, or they at least want to do better than Royce Newman as the primary backup, would Gutekunst bypass Beebe, Haynes and Mahogany?

If the Packers want to give Josh Myers a real challenger at center, or they at least want to groom a young backup, would they skip over a big chunk of the draft class to focus on the few taller prospects? As a potential first-round pick, would they prefer Duke’s Graham Barton over Powers-Johnson because of the 2-inch size advantage?

Remember, in the 2021 draft, Gutekunst selected Myers instead of Creed Humphrey, who wound up earning All-Rookie and All-Pro honors. Myers was a full inch taller than Humphrey.

“It was a pretty good center class up at the top this year, and I thought we had some options,” Gutekunst said at the time. “But Josh, his size, his athleticism, his power, how smart he is, what they asked him to do at Ohio State and understanding he could handle some of that here, I think was intriguing to us. I think he fit what we’re all about.”

2024-04-18T01:24:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd