Deep dive exposes the real reason the Packers have struggled in one key area and what it will take to correct it
Head coach Matt LaFleur values the run game, but it’s been hard to establish an efficient sequence with the problems across the offensive line.
The Green Bay Packers’ offseason plan included a reconstruction of the offensive line, not only in personnel but also in approach. The team gave guard Aaron Banks a big four-year, $77 million contract in free agency, and drafted Anthony Belton in the second round in large part because they wanted big bodies upfront. Presumably, that would give the team a boost in the run game.
In practicality, though, run blocking has been an even bigger issue in 2025 than it was a year ago — despite valuable efforts from Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson to make more than what the line gives them. The team dropped from 23rd to 29th in run-block win rate, per ESPN.
“Our run game’s been just, there’s some good moments and some not-so-good moments,” head coach Matt LaFleur said after the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Ultimately, I think there’s a lot of things that we’ve got to do a lot better.”
Why the run blocking hasn’t been good
For the most part, teams don’t have enough time to practice. Even though any coach in the NFL would preach development, actual development over a short period of time is hard to pull off. Players will do what they do. So the Packers’ run blocking isn’t working, and the reason is personnel.
The decision to sign Banks to that big of a deal was always questionable, but his performance hasn’t even been as good as he was for the San Francisco 49ers in 2024. But that’s the problem. Last season was a positive outlier for Banks — it was the only season of his career where he had a PFF run block grade higher than 60. The Packers bet on a linear improvement, but it hasn’t happened.
Additionally, moving Elgton Jenkins from left guard to center hasn’t generated the expected results either. His run block grade went slightly down from 61.4 in 2024 to 59.4 through seven games in 2025.
Packers’ IOL run block grade (via PFF)
2024
- Elgton Jenkins – 61.4
- Josh Myers – 52.2
- Sean Rhyan 58.4
2025
- Aaron Banks – 49.7
- Elgton Jenkins – 59.4
- Jordan Morgan – 50.7
Jenkins has been worse than he was last year, and Banks hasn’t even played as well as former Packers center Josh Myers. So the combination on the interior is underwhelming — and while Jordan Morgan is a more effective pass-blocker than Sean Rhyan, the former third-rounder is better in the run game.
Curiously, Rhyan is the best run blocker via PFF among the interior linemen. That’s probably why he outsnapped Morgan (55 percent vs. 45 percent) against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“It’s technique and the ability to actually move bodies inside,” Pack a Day Podcast analyst Andy Herman told A to Z Sports. “They just can’t get much push. But hand placement and footwork are big issues too.”
Potential solutions
Just like any real problem in the NFL, it’s hard to solve the Packers’ run blocking issues during the season. Ideally, Banks would go back to the level he was playing last season for the 49ers, and Jenkins would play at the “All-Pro level” that Green Bay thought he could reach.
In terms of personnel, two realistic changes could help. Belton has played primarily as a right tackle, and he’s the worst run blocker of the season in Green Bay, so he’s not the alternative.
The most logical option would be playing Rhyan at right guard, making Morgan compete for the left tackle spot against Rasheed Walker. That, though, would likely weaken the pass blocking inside.
The other two realistic alternatives, however, include benching Banks, which is not an easy lever to pull months after giving him that deal. The first would be putting Rhyan in at center, moving Jenkins back to his original spot.
The other is Darian Kinnard at left guard. Even though he’s played all of his 120 snaps this season at right tackle, he has positional versatility and had three snaps at left guard for the Philadelphia Eagles last season; he’s also had 187 preseason snaps at right guard. For the Packers, Kinnard has played 54 run block snaps, and his 90.1 grade is the best in the offensive line room.
LaFleur runs a run-centric offensive structure, and pounding the rock is what’s expected to open passing lanes, even if Jordan Love doesn’t need that anymore. And for it to be more efficient, the big guys upfront need to do a better job as soon as possible.
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