Acme Packing Company
Over the years, the Green Bay Packers’ offense under head coach Matt LaFleur has had some ebbs and flows when it comes to red zone success. In 2019, LaFleur’s second year with the team, they converted 68 percent of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns, good for the second-best mark in the NFL for that season. In 2020, they followed that up with an amazing 77 percent red zone touchdown rate, which topped the league.
Since then, though, they’ve slipped. In 2021, they ranked 18th, followed by 23rd, 17th and 10th in the following three seasons.
Now, they’re hoping their big-body offensive line will take them over the top. From left to right, the starters up front are expected to be Rasheed Walker (6’6”, 324 pounds), Aaron Banks (6’5”, 325), Elgton Jenkins (6’5”, 311), Sean Rhyan (6’5”, 321) and Zach Tom (6’4”, 304) with Jordan Morgan (6’5”, 311) likely rotating in at left tackle and/or right guard. Gone are the days when the Packers used to be able to pick up undersized pass protector college tackles on Day 3 of the draft. Now, LaFleur wants big boys, one reason why the team went out of their way to sign Banks in free agency and draft Anthony Belton (6’6”, 336) in the second round in April as a developmental player.
On Sunday, they’ll have the tough task of trying to turn these red zone opportunities into touchdowns against the reigning NFC North champion Detroit Lions. Here’s a stat from NFL Pro:
The Lions allowed the fewest EPA per play (-0.32) and the 2nd-lowest offensive success rate (34.6%) in the red zone last season. The Lions held opposing quarterbacks to a league-low 68.8 passer rating inside the 20, more than 10 points below the next closest team (Saints). Jordan Love completed 66.7% of his passes (t-5th highest) and generated a passer rating of 106.2 (11th-highest) in the red zone last season.
Green Bay’s spent a lot of money on this line. Banks, Jenkins and Tom are on big contracts, and Morgan was a high draft pick. Next year, there’s the potential that Walker, Jenkins and Rhyan are all on different teams. The Packers need their offensive line to produce results for them this year, starting with the Lions.
