NFL Draft: Previewing Packers’ Interior Offensive Line Prospects

With a glaring lack of depth and the possible desire to offer starting competition at right guard and center, the Green Bay Packers will look to upgrade the interior of their offensive line in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Author:
Bill Huber
Apr 17, 2024

In this story:

NFL Draft

Green Bay Packers

Draft Digest

Graham Barton

Jackson Powers-Johnson

Jordan Morgan

Tanor Bortolini

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Whether it’s a potential challenger to Josh Myers at center or Sean Rhyan at right guard or the overall need for depth, the Green Bay Packers will enter the 2024 NFL Draft looking to bolster the interior of their offensive line.

Here is our preview of the draft class. Players who typically don’t meet the Packers’ height/weight/athletic numbers are not included. Of note, the Packers have not drafted a lineman shorter than 6-foot-4 under GM Brian Gutekunst and they haven’t selected a lineman with shorter than 32-inch arms since 2006. We have left some wiggle room in these lists.

Pressure numbers are from Pro Football Focus.

CENTERS

C Graham Barton, Duke

6-foot-5 3/8, 313 pounds. 32 7/8 arms. 4.95 40, 4.55 shuttle, 10.00 RAS

Barton started five games at center as a freshman in 2020 before shifting out to left tackle to start 34 games the past three seasons. He was a second-team All-American in 2023 despite missing three games due to injuries and opting out of the bowl game. In 2023, he allowed two sacks and 11 pressures and was penalized six times. He was arguably better in 2022, when he allowed two sacks and 10 pressures and was penalized seven times while playing about 400 more snaps.

Short arms mean he will move back to center or perhaps line up at guard. With elite athleticism for pass protection and second-level blocking and point-of-attack toughness, he will thrive. For what it’s worth, he allowed zero sacks and nine pressures in 238 pass-protecting snaps at center in 2020. His versatility makes him the best interior-line prospect in this draft, though not necessarily the best center.

It’s perhaps worth remembering the Packers took the taller Josh Myers over Creed Humphrey in 2021. Myers is an inch taller than Humphrey; Barton is 2 inches taller than Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson.

C Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

6-foot-3 3/8, 328 pounds, 32 1/4 arms. DNP 40, DNP shuttle, NA RAS

If you’re looking for a center, Powers-Johnson is your guy. He won the Rimington Award as the nation’s top center and was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2023, when he dominated as a run blocker and pass protector. In three seasons that included 714 passing plays, he allowed zero sacks. Moreover, he’s the best run blocker in the class because of his elite quickness and leverage.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he was first in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. To be precise, he allowed one pressure in 497 passing plays. One. He was penalized nine times, though.

C Tanor Bortolini, Wisconsin

6-foot-4 1/4, 303 pounds. 31 1/2 arms. 4.94 40, 4.28 shuttle, 9.98 RAS

A native of nearby Kewaunee, Wis., Bortolini’s versatility, athleticism and intelligence will be coveted. He’s started at five positions in his career: 13 at center (including 12 in 2023), eight at left guard (including seven in 2022), three at right guard (all in 2022), three at right tackle (in 2021) and one at tight end (also in 2021). He was an honorable mention on the all-Big Ten team in 2023, when he allowed one sack and 11 pressures.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 20th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized five times. He isn’t as good of a run blocker.

The Packers haven’t drafted a lineman with arms shorter than 32 inches since Jason Spitz in 2006. Would Bortolini merit a second look because his workout numbers are elite?

C Beaux Limmer, Arkansas

6-foot-4 5/8, 302 pounds. 31 7/8 arms. 5.22 40, 4.57 shuttle, 9.79 RAS

Limmer started 41 games in four seasons. After getting the nod at right guard in 28 games in 2020 through 2022, he shifted to center for most of 2023. He allowed three sacks and 12 total pressures during his final season.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 39th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized three times.

Limmer’s arms just miss the 32-inch mark, which could take him off the board. But he’s got strong numbers everywhere else, including a whopping 39 reps on the 225-pound bench press. With strength and mentality, he is a physical run blocker.

C Hunter Nourzad, Penn State

6-foot-3 1/8, 317 pounds. 33 1/8 arms. DNP 40, DNP shuttle, no RAS

Nourzad spent his first two seasons at Cornell, with 10 starts at right tackle in 2019 and 2021 sandwiching the COVID-canceled 2020 season, and his final two seasons at Penn State, where all 21 starts came at the interior positions. He allowed two sacks and 12 pressures in 2022, when he played mostly left guard, and zero sacks and 16 pressures in 2023, when he started all 13 games at center. He is a quality all-around player who is greater than the sum of his parts.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 42nd in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized only twice.

C Jalen Sundell, North Dakota State

6-foot-5 1/8, 301 pounds. 33 1/8 arms. 5.18 40, 4.58 shuttle. 9.35 RAS

Sundell started 25 games at center in 2020, 2021 and 2022 before moving to left tackle for 2023. He was a first-team FCS All-American. He allowed a sack in his debut against Eastern Washington but none over his final 14 games. He finished with one sack, nine pressures allowed and five penalties. In three years at center, he allowed one sack; he missed most of 2022 with a broken foot.

His athleticism, especially to get out front and reach the second level, will give him a shot in the NFL. He’ll have to get stronger, though, to hold up against big NFL defensive tackles.

Matt Lee, Miami

6-foot-3 5/8, 301 pounds. 32 1/8 arms. 5.03 40, 4.69 shuttle, 8.55 RAS.

Smart and athletic, Lee was a three-year starting center at Central Florida before transferring to Miami for his final season. He allowed zero sacks and four pressures for UCF in 2022 and matched those numbers in 2023. For his career, he started 48 games – all of them at center.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked fourth in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. Moreover, he was busted for only one penalty. Lee is a nice blend of athlete in space and finisher at the line of scrimmage, but he lacks the size and strength to bully people at the line of scrimmage.

C Dylan McMahon, NC State

6-foot-3 3/8, 299 pounds. 31 3/4 arms. 5.10 40, 4.33 shuttle, 9.81 RAS

With 44 career starts, McMahon played about 800 snaps at both guard spots in 2021, 415 snaps at right guard, 290 at center and 115 at left guard in 2022, and 684 snaps at center in 2023, when he allowed one sack and 12 total pressures. Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 37th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized six times.

McMahon’s arms just miss the 32-inch mark, which could take him off the board. But he’s got strong numbers everywhere else, including an elite 4.33 in the shuttle. He is a tremendous athlete, which helps him get to the second level, but he is underpowered in the run game.

C Kingsley Eguakun, Florida

6-foot-3 1/2, 304 pounds. 32 1/2 arms. DNP 40, 4.51 shuttle, 9.11 RAS

Eguakun started all 26 games at center in 2021 and 2022. He didn’t allow a single sack during those seasons, though he did yield 29 pressures and was penalized a staggering 26 times. However, he suffered an ankle injury before the 2023 season and never quite made it back despite his best efforts. He played in only four games, and only once was on the field for back-to-back games. Thus, his final season, rather than a launching point to the NFL, was a disappointment.

Had he played enough snaps to enter our rankings, he would have ranked 58th out of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized five times in four games. The pressures and penalties are alarming, but the raw materials are intriguing.

C Nick Gargiulo, South Carolina

6-foot-5 3/8, 318 pounds. 33 7/8 arms. 5.25 50, 4.65 shuttle, 9.47 RAS

At Yale, Gargiulo started 14 games at left tackle and 10 games at center. He transferred to South Carolina and started 12 games last year – the first five at left guard and the final seven at center. That’s a lot of versatility – not to mention excellent size and decent athleticism.

Gargiulo allowed two sacks in 2023 – both at left guard. Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 59th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. His run blocking was nothing special. He was penalized six times.

C Jacob Monk, Duke

6-foot-3, 309 pounds. 32 3/8 arms. 5.09 40, DNP shuttle, 9.74 RAS

There aren’t many players with more experience than Monk, who started 58 games in five seasons. The breakdown: 36 at right guard, 12 at right tackle (as a freshman in 2019) and 10 at center. Monk started seven games at right guard and six games at center in 2023. That includes four of the last five and the bowl game. He wound up with 351 snaps at right guard, 336 at center and 18 at left guard. He allowed one sack and 14 total pressures in those games.

Of 66 FBS-level centers in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 47th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized four times. He’s quick and smart but lacks the power to be a people-mover in the run game.

GUARDS

G Jordan Morgan, Arizona

6-foot-5, 311 pounds, 32 7/8 arms. 5.04 40, DNP shuttle, 9.82 RAS

We placed Washington’s Troy Fautanu at tackle rather than guard, which makes Morgan our No. 1 guard.

Morgan was Arizona’s three-year starting left tackle. His first year in the lineup was a bit rocky, but he was greatly improved in 2022 (one sack, 17 total pressures) and 2023 (two sacks, 14 total pressures). He was first-team all-Pac-12 as a fifth-year senior. He’s well-coached, with Arizona’s offensive coordinator formerly serving as the Seahawks’ assistant offensive line coach.

Of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 14th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized four times. The numbers are excellent but shorter-than-desired arms will push him to guard, where his athleticism and toughness as a run blocker will be amplified.

G/T Dominick Puni, Kansas

6-foot-5 1/8, 303 pounds. 33 3/8 arms. 5.35 40, 4.40 shuttle, 8.16 RAS

After four years at Central Missouri, Puni transferred to Kansas. He started 13 games at left guard in 2022 and 12 games at left tackle in 2023. He was first-team all-Big 12 as a fifth-year senior, when he allowed zero sacks and eight total pressures. How was he at guard? Also zero sacks and eight total pressures. In fact, according to PFF, his man touched the quarterback just once in almost 800 pass-protecting snaps.

Of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked fifth in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized only twice. He is a good run blocker but will struggle against some of the NFL’s massive tackles. Shorter-than-desired arms and good-but-not-great athleticism will send him to guard. Indeed, Puni’s 40 might take him off the board in some cases but his 4.40 in the shuttle is elite.

G Cooper Beebe, Kansas State

6-foot-3 1/4, 322 pounds. 31 1/2 arms. 5.03 50, 4.61 shuttle, 9.28 RAS

Beebe started seven games at right tackle in 2020 and 13 games at left tackle in 2021 before settling in at left guard for his final two seasons. He was a first-team All-American both seasons with zero sacks and nine pressures in 2022 and two sacks and nine pressures in 2023. He also was the Big 12’s Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2023 and a finalist for the Campbell Trophy – aka the Academic Heisman.

Of 92 FBS-level guards in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 22nd in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized only twice. Beebe is a dominant player with his ability to re-establish the line of scrimmage and get to the second level. The Packers haven’t drafted a lineman with arms shorter than 32 inches since 2006, though.

G Christian Mahogany, Boston College

6-foot-3 3/8, 314 pounds. 33 1/2 arms. 5.13 40, 4.53 shuttle, 9.63 RAS

Mahogany started at left guard in 2020 and right guard in 2021. After missing 2022 due to a torn ACL, he returned to right guard in 2023. He didn’t just return. He dominated. He was first-team all-ACC and allowed zero sacks and seven total pressures.

Of 92 FBS-level guards in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 12th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized five times. His physicality as a run blocker will be appreciated by his new team. He played in a zone scheme to start his career and a power scheme at the end of his career. The athletic times are good but didn’t always show up in 2023.

G Mason McCormick, South Dakota State

6-foot-4 1/4, 309 pounds. 33 7/8 arms. 5.08 40, 4.45 shuttle, 9.96 RAS

McCormick started 57 games at left guard, including a perfect 15-for-15 during each of his final three seasons. He was a consensus first-team FCS All-American in 2022 and 2023, when the Jackrabbits won back-to-back national championships.

After allowing zero sacks and 10 pressures in 2021 and two sacks and seven pressures in 2022, he gave up zero sacks and just three pressures in 2023. The 10 penalties – two more than his combined total from 2021 and 2022 – are a bit alarming. He was a man among boys, though, at the FCS level. He knew it and made everyone pay for their inferiority. He’ll have to clean up his act against much better competition. He’s got the athleticism and measurables to start, though. Different position, obviously, but another former South Dakota State player, Packers tight end Tucker Kraft, shows a player can go from FCS to instant NFL contributor.

G Zak Zinter, Michigan

6-foot-5 7/8, 309 pounds. 33 1/2 arms. DNP 40, DNP shuttle, NA RAS

Zinter started 42 games at right guard over four seasons. He started the first 12 games in 2023 before suffering a broken leg in the rivalry win over Ohio State. He was first-team all-Big Ten the last two years, when he not only allowed zero sacks but he was not penalized. He gave up just five pressures. He allowed only three sacks in his career. Zinter was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy, which is better known as the Academic Heisman.

Of 92 FBS-level guards in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 12th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. Moreover, he is a quality run blocker, with the physicality to win at the point and the ability to get to the second level. He personified Jim Harbaugh’s physical Michigan offense. The injury is “not a huge concern with a lot of teams” in regard to his status for 2024, he said at the Combine.

G Isaiah Adams, Illinois

6-foot-4 1/4, 315 pounds. 33 7/8 arms. 5.33 40, 4.73 shuttle, 7.23 RAS

Adams went from Canada to junior college to Illinois, where he started all 25 games in two seasons. Playing mostly left guard in 2022, he allowed four sacks and 11 total pressures. He started the first two games of the 2023 season at left guard before an injury forced him to right tackle. It did not go well. He allowed nine sacks in those 10 games.

Of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 90th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized six times. That’s OK, though, because he’s not going to play tackle in the NFL. A physical run blocker, the question will be whether he’s athletic enough for Green Bay’s tastes.

G Sataoa Laumea, Utah

6-foot-4 1/4, 319 pounds. 32 7/8 arms. DNP 40, DNP shuttle NA RAS

Laumea started 18 games at right guard in 2020 and 2021 and 26 games at right tackle in 2022 and 2023. He was first-team all-conference in 2022, when he allowed four sacks, and a second-team choice in 2023, when he didn’t allow any sacks but gave up 29 pressures.

Of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 88th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized four times. He is athletic and physical in the run game, but the arms are too short to survive at tackle in the NFL.

G Gottlieb Ayedze, Maryland

6-foot-4 1/8, 308 pounds, 33 arms. 5.01 40, DNP shuttle, 9.01 RAS

Ayedze spent his first four seasons at Division II Frostburg State, where he was first-team all-conference in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and a first-team All-American in 2022. To enhance his chances in the NFL, he transferred to Maryland for his final season. He started the opener at right guard and the rest of the season at right tackle. He didn’t allow any sacks.

Of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 27th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was penalized only once. Short arms will push him to guard, where he’ll need to improve his leverage. With added strength, he could contend for a starting job.

G Ladarius Henderson, Michigan

6-foot-4 1/8, 309 pounds, 35 arms. DNP 40, 4.72 shuttle, NA RAS

At Arizona State, Henderson started 10 games at left tackle in 2019 and 19 games at left guard in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he transferred to Michigan and started 10 games at left tackle. He was first-team all-Big Ten with only two sacks allowed.

Henderson fell just short of the 650-snap threshold we’ve been using in our rankings. Had he reached it, he would have been last in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap, due to poor performances against Iowa in the Big Ten title game and Alabama in the playoffs. His only penalty came in the national championship game against Washington.

Henderson’s arm length suggests he can play tackle. However, his numbers were much better at guard with a total of 12 pressures in 622 passing plays at ASU in 2021 and 2022 but 31 pressures in 287 passing plays at Michigan.

G C.J. Hanson, Holy Cross

6-foot-5, 300 pounds, 32 3/8 arms. 5.00 40, DNP shuttle, 9.84 RAS

After two all-conference seasons, Hanson was a third-team All-American in 2023, when he allowed zero sacks and eight pressures. In the one big-school matchup, Game 2 against Boston College, he allowed zero pressures in 28 pass-protecting snaps but was flagged twice in 55 saps overall. He finished his career with 25 consecutive games without allowing a sack.

For his career, he started 38 games – all at right guard. His only sack allowed came in 2021. He’s got excellent height and athleticism. He’ll need to get stronger as part of his adaptation to life in the NFL.