Packers’ Sean Rhyan Relished First Opportunity – Against Aaron Donald
GREEN BAY, Wis. – A season-and-a-half into his NFL career, former third-round pick Sean Rhyan had played exactly zero snaps on offense for the Green Bay Packers.
Then, on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, right guard Jon Runyan was sidelined for a series in the first half. The Packers summoned Rhyan rather than Royce Newman off the bench.
The result was a seven-play, 41-yard touchdown drive for the first score of a desperately needed 20-3 victory.
“It felt good. It was kind of sudden but it was good to get out there,” Rhyan said. “I got to go up against an easy opponent – Aaron Donald, obviously. It was good. It was semi-fulfilling. It’s one thing to practice but it’s another thing to go out there and play the game. I know I can go out there and go up against one of the best guys in the league on the defensive side of the ball.”
Rhyan also replaced left guard Elgton Jenkins for the final eight-play series. That meant 15 snaps to demonstrate to everyone – himself and the organization – that he wasn’t a wasted draft pick and could be a key part of the team’s future.
While fourth-round pick Zach Tom became one of the team’s more important players as a rookie, Rhyan’s initial season was nothing short of a major disappointment. A three-year starting left tackle at UCLA, Rhyan never challenged for playing time during his rookie training camp. He played just one snap on special teams during a dismal season that ended with him serving a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing substances.
Sean Rhyan
Photo by Benny Sieu/USA Today Sports Images
Rhyan wasn’t much of a factor in training camp this year, either. When Jenkins suffered a knee injury at Atlanta in Week 2, Royce Newman was summoned from the bench. Between the Atlanta game and back-to-back starts against New Orleans and Detroit, Newman played 168 snaps.
So, it was noteworthy that Rhyan got the call against the Rams.
“I was really proud of how he stepped in there,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We had a bunch of productive plays, mainly on the ground. But I thought he got a lot of good movement up front, so I thought he went in there and did his job at a high level.”
Why Rhyan over Newman, who has started 24 games in his two-and-a-half seasons?
“It’s been a competitive situation and he’s done it in practice, and it was good to see that, when he went out there, he was able to do his job at a really high level,” LaFleur said. “We’re always going to evaluate it, though, and try to put the best guys out there that we feel most confident are going to help us move the ball.”
Rhyan is a big man with a powerful lower-half of his body. Thus, the team’s 13 runs vs. two passes when he was in the lineup against the Rams fit his skill-set.
Through the small-sample-size prism, the Packers averaging 1.75 yards more rushing play with Rhyan on the field than they are without him this season, according to league data.
After biding his time, did Rhyan have fun making his real NFL debut?
You be the judge.
“It was fun,” he said. “It was definitely fun being out there with the boys. I really had fun. It’s kind of a blur almost just because it was my first few snaps and it was so sudden. Again, it was fun. I was happy to be a part of the team and happy to be a part of a win. Going 1-0, accomplished that, so now it’s on to next week.”
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