Packers C Sean Rhyan: Position Change Changed Career for No. 14 Player in 2026

Packers On SI is counting down the Green Bay Packers’ top 25 players for the 2026 season. This series continues with our No. 14 player, center Sean Rhyan.

At almost the midpoint of last season, it appeared Sean Rhyan’s goose had been cooked with the Green Bay Packers.

A third-round pick in 2022, Rhyan started the first four games of last season at right guard. After the bye, Rhyan played only 12 snaps against Cincinnati, with the rest of the playing time handed to Jordan Morgan. A week later at Arizona, Rhyan didn’t play at all on offense. A week after that at Pittsburgh, Rhyan moved back into a timeshare with Morgan.

After starting at left guard in place of injured Aaron Banks at Carolina in Week 9, everything – literally, everything – changed for Rhyan in Week 10 against Philadelphia. Back on the bench behind Banks and Morgan for the first 27 snaps of the game, starting center Elgton Jenkins sustained a season-ending injury.

Rhyan was thrown into the fire and re-ignited his career.

Instead of being the odd man out on the offensive line, with a ticket to parts unknown in free agency, Rhyan started the final seven games of the season plus the playoff game. The Packers re-signed him to a lucrative contract just before the start of free agency.

“Complete 180,” he said. “That first snap of the Eagles game was kind of like, just get the ball to J-Love, and now towards the end of that Bears game, it was man, f***ing move this guy and let’s f***king get the first down or let’s go and f***king score or do all this. The motor and the confidence was just built, trial and error, and towards the end of the year we were there. We were moving good.”

Why Sean Rhyan Is So Important

The Green Bay Packers re-signed Sean Rhyan before the start of free agency. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Rhyan is the center. Everything starts with him. The Packers didn’t give him a three-year, $33 million contract just before the start of free agency because of how he played during the second half of last season. They gave him a contract that included an $11 million signing bonus because of what he can become.

Rather than learning on the fly, Rhyan had the full offseason to focus on the finer points.

“To have an offseason for him to just work on the center position, it’s going to be tremendous,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said before OTAs. “He’ll grow more and more every single day. It is hard. Playing that position for the Green Bay Packers, it’s tough.

“The operation of the offense, the most important thing in football is the ball – to get the ball to the quarterback every time. And I think people take that for granted. So, for him to have some opportunity this offseason, a training camp under his belt, I think it’s going to be really good for him.”

Sean Rhyan’s Strengths and Weaknesses

Green Bay Packers lineman Sean Rhyan (75) blocks Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Rhyan is a big, solidly built dude. As such, run blocking has always been the strength of his game. That comes in handy as the center when a nose tackle is lined up inches from his facemask.

“You got to be quick, but it’s just the amount of training and the specificity of it,” he said. “Center is very close quarters. Guard, you could be out in space or you could be pulling, but you got the big ole fat boys, so it’s like you got to really be flexible and be able to bend, so I’ve been doing a lot of bending stuff trying to just keep my joints all fluid.”

Where Rhyan needs to improve is pass protection. Beginning from when he jumped into the lineup against the Eagles through the end of the season, 38 centers played at least 100 pass-protecting snaps. Rhyan was next-to-last in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-blocking snap.

Rhyan will still battle some inexperience issues, too. There’s just some things he’ll have to experience in the moment.

“Me and Sean, it’s been great,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “Having a guy who has a full year of playing under his belt for him – he’s played it guard, so he knows what he’s doing – but now I think at center, it’s different when you’re making the calls, you’re the one snapping the ball. You’ve got to be on time with everything, but he’s done a great job.”

What Happens If Sean Rhyan Gets Hurt

One of the key battles during training camp will be between 2024 fifth-round pick Jacob Monk and 2026 fifth-round pick Jager Burton to be the top backup. Monk started and played well when he started at Minnesota in Week 18.

Why We Ranked Sean Rhyan Here

Rhyan started seven games in the regular season. That was enough to make him seventh in annual pay among centers. It’s a bet on what Rhyan can become.

“When we lost Elgton, he stepped up and just kind of took control of it,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “There were mistakes, for sure, but as we progressed through the season, he just kept getting better and better and better. It was good to watch him out there take command of the offense, making the calls and getting a set up front.”

After an unusual journey that started with him playing only one snap as a rookie, the new contract was a reward for his perseverance and willingness to help the team in any capacity.

“I didn’t really cry until maybe 2, 3 hours after I signed the piece of paper when I actually sat down and was able to really think about what that meant and what a huge accomplishment that was,” Rhyan said. “It was, I don’t know, reassurance. I don’t even know how to explain it, really. I was f***ing grateful, man.”

The Packers are grateful, too. They’ll be even more grateful if he becomes a driving force behind an offensive line that must improve compared to last year.

Every year, I rank every player on the Packers roster based on talent, importance, salary etc. I will again this year, too.

For now, let's cut right to the chase. Here is a quick-hitting look at the 2⃣5⃣ most important players for the 2026 season.⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 17, 2026

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