Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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It's too early to tell how it's all going to shake out. The uncertainty with the Packers' offensive line stems from All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari's rehab from an ACL tear and All-Pro center Corey Linsley's pending free agency.
If Linsley leaves and Bakhtiari isn't ready by Week 1 – which would constitute a miraculous recovery from the late-December injury, though no one is counting a dedicated pro like Bakhtiari out at this stage – the Packers' four most experienced offensive linemen as of now would be Billy Turner, Elgton Jenkins, Lucas Patrick and Runyan.
Adding a veteran in free agency and/or targeting a high-round draft pick who could potentially start right away is certainly on the radar, so the extent of the Packers' options for the starting five remains to be determined.
But it's a good bet Runyan will be very much in the mix after his solid work off the bench last season.
Not including late-game kneel-downs, Runyan took snaps at both right and left guard in five different games. Those outings included the fourth quarter of the opener at Minnesota, which were his first NFL game snaps of any kind following a training camp without a preseason.
His most extensive work came in three games in November, all at left guard. After playing the entire second half at San Francisco, he entered early in back-to-back games against Indianapolis and Chicago when Jenkins moved from left guard to center to replace an injured Linsley.
Runyan played 50 snaps in each of those two games and held up well. There were thoughts he might stay in the starting lineup when Linsley missed the next three games, but the coaches opted to go with more experience, moving Turner from right tackle back to guard and inserting veteran Rick Wagner in Turner's spot.
Be that as it may, the decision did not reflect any dissatisfaction with Runyan, and Wagner has since been released, changing the dynamic for 2021.
"It wasn't too big for him," offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said of Runyan stepping in as a rookie. "There wasn't that wide-open-eyed look. You can't coach that. I think that's something that comes natural to a player."