Ranking the Packers (No. 18): Elgton Jenkins

Second-round pick Elgton Jenkins turned in a sensational rookie season and should be a centerpiece of the line for years to come.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 26, 2020 9:26 AM EDT

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In a tradition that stretches more than a decade, here is our annual ranking of the 90 players on the Green Bay Packers’ roster. This isn’t merely a look at the best players. Rather, it’s a formula that combines talent, salary, importance of the position, depth at the position and, for young players, draft positioning. More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about every player on the roster.

No. 18: G Elgton Jenkins (6-5, 311, second season, Mississippi State)

When Green Bay’s offense was at its peak, it overwhelmed defenses with the superior firepower of Aaron Rodgers throwing to the likes of Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Randall Cobb. An underrated reason for that success was the dominant play of guards T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton. They were the secret sauce for Rodgers’ extension of plays. The offensive tackles would steer their defenders past Rodgers, and Sitton and Lang would help provide the sturdy middle that would allow Rodgers to step up in the pocket before escaping right or left.

Entering the 2019 draft and with the play of Sitton and Lang being but fond memories, the Packers needed a guard. Previous general manager Ted Thompson hit fourth-round home runs with Sitton and Lang. New general manager Brian Gutekunst drafted Jenkins in the second round and was rewarded with a superior rookie season and the potential of long-term dominance.

“He’s got a rare ability as far as his size, his athleticism and his power,” Gutekunst said after the season. “He’s going to be a really good player. He was a really good player for us this year and has a chance to be, if he really puts his mind to it, he has a chance to be one of the guys like we’ve had here in the past – the Josh Sittons, T.J. Langs, Marco Riveras, Mike Wahles. We’ve had a long history of really good inside players and Elgton has a chance to be one of those.”

After a spirited competition, Jenkins couldn’t quite beat out veteran starter Lane Taylor in training camp. When Taylor was injured at practice before Week 3, it opened a door that Jenkins stormed through to grab a spot on the All-Rookie team. Of the seven rookie guards to play 200 pass-protecting snaps, Jenkins was the only one to not allow a sack, according to PFF. Of 63 guards to play at least 50 percent of the snaps, he finished 12th in PFF’s pass-protection metric with zero sacks and one hit but 22 total pressures. He was excellent in the run game, too. Sports Info Solution charged Jenkins with one blown block in the run game, tied for fewest among all guards, and zero stuffs. (A “blown block” is failing to execute the block and giving the opponent a chance to negatively affect the play; a “stuff” is a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage on a running play.)

Late in the season, Jenkins labeled his play as only “OK.”

“Just trying to be the best in the league,” Jenkins said. “If you want to be the best, there’s always things you can work on. You can never be complacent with your job and the things that you’ve accomplished. So, you critique every small thing. When you’re doing everything to the best of your ability, eventually, everybody will label you as the best.”

All of that SEC competition, along with practice battles against future first-round picks Jeffrey Simmons and Montez Sweat, created a battle-tested player who wasn’t fazed by any player or any setting. About the only ding on his resume were his eight penalties (five for holding).

“I think his ability to not let the stage get too big for him, I think that’s always huge,” left tackle David Bakhtiari said. “I think sometimes in certain stages, your eyes can get too wide and it can affect your play. I think he’s done a good job. At times, we kind of have to bring him back down to reality and have him understand that you don’t want to get too big of a head out there because you can caught going the other direction. It’s always good to be like a plateau – consistent, never too high, never too low – so you’re not riding the wave of the highs and the lows.”

Why he’s so important: With Bakhtiari, Sitton, Corey Linsley, Lang and Bryan Bulaga, the Packers enjoyed the best offensive line play over the span of a few seasons. Attrition has pecked away at that group, and could again with Bakhtiari and Linsley headed to free agency. Jenkins should be, and needs to be, a centerpiece of the group for years to come.