I was surprised when Josh Myers won the starting center job coming out of Packers training camp this past summer.
Now comes this news from Rob Demovsky. The Packers think that Zach Tom can be a Hall of Fame caliber center in the NFL.
I’m not saying that’s not true, but if it is, why didn’t Tom just win the job last summer? It’s not like Myers was doing anything special in preseason. He was getting beat consistently in camp and not surprisingly, he turned in his worst season as a pro. He gave up 20 hurries, five sacks and was also penalized five times.
Tom, 25, was arguably one of the best hidden gems from the 2022 NFL Draft. The fourth round draft pick started all 17 games last year and improved from his rookie campaign, where he started only five games.
The sky’s the limit for Tom. The unheralded Wake Forest standout has made it his mission to make people overlook him. And now he’s gotten to the point where the Packers could honestly play him anywhere and he would succeed.
That’s how valuable he is. As a rookie, he played left tackle, left guard, right tackle and right guard.
But isn’t all of this praise a little too late? You also have to read between the lines. Remember, this is NFL Draft Season. NFL teams will say and do anything just to sway general managers or mock drafts. Saying that Tom could potentially be a Hall of Fame center just means that the Packers could have their sights set on an offensive guard or tackle — or that’s just what the Packers want other teams to think.
Saying that Tom is better than Myers isn’t news because Tom has always been better than Myers. Tom just has that extra gear which is what you need in the NFL And what’s frustrating is that Myers was a second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
If Tom isn’t the starting center when camp breaks this summer, I’m going to be really disappointed. That just means the Packers are afraid to make the necessary changes to better the team and it also means that the comment was made to generate a buzz.
“He’s a guy that can play all five spots and he can be really good at all five of them,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst this past February. “It’ll be dependant on what we have and where we need him.”
If Tom is the quarterback of the offensive line as the starting center, that unit could be really special. Myers only has a dead cap hit of $354,570 this year. If you truly believe that Tom is the next generational talent at center, then it’s time to make a move.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on “Clubhouse Live” and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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