With Childhood Competitive Streak, Tom Throws Block Party
GREEN BAY, Wis. – There weren’t many up-for-grabs positions in the Green Bay Packers’ starting lineup entering training camp. One was supposed to be right tackle between Yosh Nijman, the incumbent starter, and Zach Tom, the versatile 2022 fourth-round pick.
Turns out that wasn’t a battle, either. Tom easily won the job to earn the Week 1 start at the Chicago Bears.
“It was coming in and competing every day and being the same person,” Tom said on Monday. “A big thing in the NFL is about being consistent, being the same person every day, so that people know what to expect out of you. That’s all I focused on was coming in and being myself. I know if I can do that, I’ll be all right.”
Tom was more than all right against the Bears.
According to Pro Football Focus, nine offensive tackles with at least 25 pass-protecting snaps allowed zero pressures in Week 1. Tom (and left tackle David Bakhtiari) was in that select group. In the run game, according to league data, the Packers averaged 3.71 yards per carry over right tackle and 5.33 yards around right end. Those were much better than the team-wide figures. On Aaron Jones’ 1-yard touchdown run, Tom delivered the key block.
“I think I played well,” Tom said. “I think there’s some things I need to clean up, mainly in the run game but, overall, it was a pretty good start to the season for me.”
Tom’s older brother, Cameron, was an offensive lineman at Southern Mississippi. He played in 13 games for the New Orleans Saints spanning the 2017 through 2020 seasons and competed for a roster spot with the Philadelphia Eagles at training camp this year.
As is typical for athletic siblings, they were competitive.
“Yeah, for sure,” Tom said. “Obviously, when you grow up in a household with a brother, you’re always going to be competing over every little stupid thing. It definitely does translate. Obviously, I don’t like losing. Anybody in here’s like that, so I don’t think that’s anything special to me. But, yeah, to answer your question, it definitely did translate to where we are now.”
During training camp offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich saw that competitiveness jump to the forefront with Tom more than he did with Nijman, who had started 21 games the previous two seasons.
“I think Zach, right from the start, was pretty determined to grab hold of that position,” Stenavich said last week. “Right from the start of camp, he did a great job. It’s a testament to him and his mindset of how he came into it, how he prepared. I’m excited about Zach this year. I think he’s going to have a great year.”
When they weren’t busy fighting over this and that, Cameron gave Zach some advice that has stuck with him over the years.
“The main thing he taught me is knowing what to do,” Tom said. “They’re not going to put you on the field, they’re not going to trust you to play, if you don’t know what to do. The main thing he told me was learn the playbook, know what to do first and foremost, and then technique and all that stuff, you can work on that. But you don’t have anything to work with if you don’t know what to do.”
That’s been a key lesson for Tom, who didn’t have the benefit of showing up to training camp and focusing on one position. A center and left tackle at Wake Forest, Tom played everywhere but center as a rookie. He started games on a moment’s notice at Washington (at left tackle) and Buffalo (at left guard). He replaced an ailing Nijman at right tackle against Minnesota and Detroit in the final games of the year, as well.
Zach Tom (Photo by Sarah Kloepping/USA Today Sports Images)
Even this summer, while competing with Nijman, Tom found himself at left guard and center.
At 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds, Tom looks like he should be playing one of those spots instead of right tackle. Just look at his NFC North peers. The Bears’ first-round pick this year, Darnell Wright, is 6-foot-5 and 333 pounds. The Lions’ first-round pick in 2021, the ascending Penei Sewell, is 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds. Vikings standout Brian O’Neill is 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds.
“He reminds me size-wise of a guy like Joe Staley,” Stenavich said of the six-time Pro Bowler and all-decade former left tackle of the 49ers. “Joe, when I was in San Francisco with him, he was about 300 pounds. Zach’s very athletic, just like Joe.
“Typically, tackles, just what kind of tackle are you? He’s a more athletic guy that’s going to have to use his athleticism in different ways that a traditional, bigger guy probably can’t. He does a good job and he’s a lot more physical than people realize, especially in the run game. I’m excited about him.”
And for good reason, based on Sunday’s debut. What allows Tom to thrive at a position typically manned by much bigger blockers?
“I just think he’s got great technique,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday. “I think he’s athletic. He obviously knows what to do. He can play any of the spots, and he’s done a great job. He’s got a characteristic about him where the moment is never too big.
“How many times last year when we were in warmups and you’re like, ‘Hey, buddy, you’re starting today,’ and he may not have gotten many of the reps at that particular position. Now that he’s had a ton of reps at right tackle, he’s … earned that spot and he had a really good Week 1.”
Tom’s focus entering Week 2 is improving his run blocking. That’s a team-wide focus. The Packers emerged from Week 1 ranked 26th with 2.88 yards per carry. AJ Dillon carried 13 times for 19 yards. Excluding Sean Clifford’s fumble, Jordan Love’s quarterback sneak and Jones’ touchdown, the Packers had eight runs that gained 1 yard or less, including five that lost yardage.
“I think the main thing is going to be my pad level,” Tom said. “I think there were times in the game where I was playing too high and not getting enough movement in the running game or getting pushed too far back in the pass game. That all comes down to bending your knees, so that’ll be the main thing I focus on this week in practice. I know next week, [the Atlanta Falcons’] D-line’s pretty good so I’m going to have to really focus in on my technique.”
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