Packers’ actions speak louder than words with Anthony Belton, and it creates a complicated offensive line situation
The coaching staff doesn’t seem willing to use the so-called “best five” if that means keep playing Belton at guard.
The Green Bay Packers appear to have a trust problem with second-round pick Anthony Belton, and the evidence is all over training camp and preseason. Despite entering 2026 with expectations of starting at right guard, Belton has spent most of camp at right tackle instead, a move that signals the coaching staff isn’t confident he can handle the interior role anymore. The Packers’ offensive line depth chart is shifting as a result, and the short-term and long-term implications deserve attention.
The Jordan Morgan comparison to find the best five
What makes this situation so curious is the precedent Green Bay already set with former first-round pick Jordan Morgan. The Packers cross-trained Morgan extensively throughout his first two NFL seasons, playing him at guard even though they knew he was a better tackle. Morgan was probably the best left tackle on the roster instead of Rasheed Walker last season, and the Packers still moved him to right guard to start 2025 because that combination created the best five-man unit up front.
Apply that same premise to Belton, and it would make sense to put him at right guard even if the Packers believe his best position is tackle. But they haven’t done that. They moved Belton to right tackle for most of training camp and the first preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers because that’s where they think he can play at his best. Unlike Morgan, the coaching staff doesn’t seem willing to move Belton inside at this point, even though doing so would probably allow Green Bay to field its five best offensive linemen.
Zach Bako-Bewele’s return changes the equation for Belton
The situation got more complicated when right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele returned from a knee injury. Even with Bako-Bewele back, the Packers didn’t place Belton back at his right guard spot. Instead, they’re playing Jacob Monk, the former fifth-rounder entering this third season in the NFL.
That leaves Belton, last year’s second-round pick, as a likely backup. He projects as the swing tackle or perhaps only the backup right tackle at this point, which is a far cry from the preseason expectation that he would start at guard like he did down the stretch in 2025. The offseason program with Belton at right guard apparently wasn’t working for the coaching staff, so it changed directions before training camp even began.
The problem is that Monk doesn’t come with a guarantee of reliability. He had some good moments in the preseason opener against the Steelers, playing nine snaps at right guard with the ones and 27 snaps at center later in the game. But throughout his first three NFL seasons, Monk barely played. That wasn’t because of injuries, and the Packers simply didn’t feel he was ready.
Last year in that meaningless Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Monk started at center and performed relatively well, but whether that’s good enough for the Packers to trust him as a regular starter remains to be seen.
Long-term guard depth is a real concern
This situation also exposes a broader issue with Green Bay’s interior offensive line depth. Rookie Jager Burton will be part of the long-term thinking for years to come, but beyond him, the picture is uncertain. Aaron Banks might not be a long-term piece because of his cost, production, and sequence of injuries.
The Packers will probably have to consider taking more offensive linemen high in the draft over the next few years to address the gap. But this isn’t only a future problem. Right now, Green Bay expects to start Monk at right guard unless Banks returns at left guard playing at a good level, which would free Burton to compete with Monk for the right guard spot.
Either way, that’s a complicated situation for the Packers, and one that traces back to the coaching staff’s apparent lack of trust in Anthony Belton to be what they expected when they drafted him in the second round a year ago.
