Nijman Rises to Unexpected Occasion

Yosh Nijman has thrived as the next man up to the next man up at left tackle for the Packers.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers had just broken Brett Favre’s franchise record for touchdown passes. He had just kept the Green Bay Packers in control of the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a fourth consecutive win. He had just solidified his spot in the race for a fourth MVP.

It would be a Merry Christmas for Rodgers.

But it was a question about Yosh Nijman in which Rodgers perhaps flashed one of his biggest smiles on Saturday night.

“It’s totally amazing. That’s the beauty of football,” Rodgers said. “This game shows you something different all the time. It surprises you. There’s stories that emerge every single season that warm your heart and make you feel good about what you’re doing and how special this game is. Yosh is one of them.”

An undrafted free agent in 2019, Nijman wasn’t supposed to be one of those heart-warming stories. Elgton Jenkins was supposed to be the man holding down the fort for David Bakhtiari until the five-time All-Pro was back at left tackle.

Instead, Nijman went from the roster bubble at the start of training camp to starting three games when Jenkins sprained an ankle to starting the last four games following Jenkins’ torn ACL. Maybe Bakhtiari will be back for the playoffs. Maybe not. What is certain is Nijman’s terrific play in seven starts is a big reason why the Packers are 12-3 headed into Sunday night’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

“I thought he had a nice camp, was wondering how he’d fit on the squad,” Rodgers continued. “Sure enough, he was thrust in the starting lineup pretty quickly and he’s done a great job. I love in this game when the confidence that a player starts to gain allows them to open up and you see more of the personality.

“I think it’s a really special part of this. We love seeing that personality from Yosh – not just The Robot but his confidence and him talking more. He’s a quiet man by nature. He goes about his business and doesn’t say a whole lot and makes zero excuses and just goes out and plays hard. I’m really proud of how he’s played and love seeing him in the huddle and seeing his personality continue to come out and grow and shine, because he’s a great human being.”

Nijman has reason to be playing with more and more confidence. The high-quality preseason that punched his ticket on the roster wasn’t a fluke.

Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt leads the NFL with 17.5 sacks. He’s followed by Chicago’s Robert Quinn (17 sacks), Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (15), San Francisco’s Nick Bosa (15) and Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson (14). The Packers faced all five of them, plus future Hall of Famer Von Miller of the Rams, with Nijman the primary blocker in each game. He gave up a sack in only two of those games (two vs. Hendrickson, one vs. Quinn), according to Pro Football Focus.

On Saturday, the matchup was against Garrett. He entered the game ranked second in NFL history with 0.88 sacks per game. Garrett wasn’t at his best due to a groin injury and had just one assisted tackle and one quarterback hit.

Of 66 offensive tackles with at least 285 pass-protecting snaps, Nijman ranks 36th in PFF’s pass-protection metric, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per passing play. He hasn’t always been great but he’s been consistently good enough to let coach Matt LaFleur run his offense.

Helped by the offensive game plan and Rodgers’ quick release, Nijman hasn’t had to win those matchups by himself. But his ascending play has given LaFleur greater confidence that his young left tackle can get the job done.

“Yosh has been big time for our team,” LaFleur said. “He's done an outstanding job. I think our offensive staff does a great job game planning. I've said it many times: Steno and Butkus [offensive line coaches Adam Stenavich and Luke Butkus] do a great job of helping our players get prepared. But also, it comes down to the players and their ability to take whatever it is you're giving them and go out there and execute. I’m super-proud of him, just the work he puts in on a daily basis, his approach to the game and how much it means to him, and it's evident. Before each game, I always go up to him. He cares about this a lot and that's why he puts so much time and effort into it.”

Bakhtiari’s ACL tear, sustained at practice almost exactly one year ago, perhaps kept the Packers out of last year’s championship game. Bakhtiari didn’t practice last week, perhaps a sign that it will be up to Nijman to protect Rodgers’ blind side all the way to Los Angeles for the Super Bowl.

“I would just say that I’m proud of myself contributing to the team the way I have and I’m just grateful once again,” Nijman said last week. “I’m just grateful to put on that helmet, be in the NFL and playing for the Packers. It’s really a dream come true given all the circumstances. I’m just grateful, really grateful.”