There hasn’t been much to smile about in Green Bay lately. Ever since Jordan Love threw a deep pick with a 9 point lead in Denver, the direction of this season has changed course completely. The team has progressively been plunging deeper and deeper into the abyss, and none of us can take our eyes off it. Lacking a better explanation, I’ll just say that it’s clear the football gods have it out for us right now. Thankfully Clayton Tune is here to save our spirits on Sunday! Yay! Anyway, some of the recent injuries actually have a faint silver lining. Chief among those is the opportunity that has arisen for Jordan Morgan. Since this is our first time witnessing extended action at tackle for Morgan, I thought it would be fun to dig into the tape. Here’s a little write-up on what I found.
First off, I think it is important for Packer fans to refresh on who Morgan was coming out of college. Jordan was a superbly athletic and quick footed LT at Arizona. His athleticism popped off the screen throughout his college tape. He was consistently able to secure the edge against speed rushers with noticeable ease, and also took on the most difficult blocking assignments in the run game. Arizona had many cool run/screen game designs that maximized his athleticism in space. Morgan was constantly working to the second level in the run game, and was even asked to leak out and block corners on WR screen passes.
Also worth noting that Morgan was a 3 year starter who never once played a snap at any position other than LT! Never once! Since he was likely the best lineman on his high school team as well, I think it’s a safe bet that Morgan hasn’t played anything but LT since at least before high school.
So just keep that tidbit in mind when you wonder whether or not Jordan Morgan has been a draft bust so far. Morgan worked at only one position, and for some reason that is the one position the Packers have not worked him at yet so far in his career.
The extra curious part is that everything about his college tape screamed that this guy should be a tackle. He wins with athleticism and light feet, but had his worst moments when going up against the stronger/more physical types of pass rushers. Traditionally, a player with those qualities will survive better on the outside of the offensive line.
So, why is it that he’s been stuck at guard for the near entirety of his career so far? Well part of it is the current roster logjam the Packers have had the privilege of having at offensive tackle. The other half is simply Jordan Morgan’s arm length. No way to put it other than that Jordan Morgan has relatively short arms for his size/position. And funnily enough, arm length has long been viewed as a surprisingly important metric for offensive lineman. Similar to a boxer, having longer reach than your opponent goes a long way. In theory it allows you to get your hands on the opponent first, and throw the first punch. Also notable, it’s traditionally been more essential for tackles than it has been for guards/centers. Hence the reason for Morgan’s shift to the interior of the offensive line.
Film Review:
For me, Morgan’s performance last Saturday was the brightest bright spot from an otherwise lousy game. While the Ravens pass rush unit might not be the best in the league, and Morgan got to handle a large diet of straightforward edge rushes, he still performed admirably. Morgan’s footwork and posture was consistent throughout all of his reps, he did a great job with hand placement, and he mirrored outside rushers incredibly well. It was a clinic from Morgan on Saturday, and for a young player the Packers need to improve, it was a truly encouraging performance.
Here’s Morgan going up against one of my favorite pass rushers from last year’s draft, Mike Green. Green is normally a speed rusher but he tries to go through Morgan on this rep. Watch no. 77 get to a great posture and keep active hands to win this rep.
Another aspect of Morgan’s game last Saturday was his force in the run game. I’ve long felt that the narrative around Morgan’s play strength was ill-placed, and he proved me right on Saturday. As a right tackle, Jordan created real movement in the run game, especially at the second level. Watch this play below, and see how Jordan Morgan finishes the block on Roquan Smith, an all-pro linebacker. This is the type of play that Green Bay Packers fans have grown accustomed to seeing from Zach Tom. It’s exciting to see another tackle now capable of making the same sort of plays.
Long story short, I really couldn’t have been more impressed with Jordan Morgan last week. I highlighted just a couple plays here, but the game film was littered with many more of these reps. Jordan was a consistent positive on Saturday.
PFF graders would agree with my assessment. PFF gave Jordan Morgan a 79.7 overall grade last week, which rounds up into the elite category. For context, that was by far the highest grade on the Packers offensive line, and was almost a solid 40 points higher than the grade that PFF gave Rasheed Walker in this game. Walker graded out as a 43.1 and surrendered 4 pressures. The difference between the two tackles on Saturday was glaring, even to the largely untrained eye.
Going into the future Jordan Morgan is the exact type of player that the Green Bay Packers will need to depend on. The franchise is entering a rough patch with cap space. Big salaries on the books will tie the team’s hands, and make it harder to sign outside talent. This means the team will need to rely more heavily on internal improvement. At the top of that list should be each of the Packers 3 most recent first round draft picks. Lukas Van Ness, Jordan Morgan, and Matthew Golden. Each one of those players has left some to be desired as far as production goes, but there is hope for each to have a larger role in 2026. That is especially the case for Morgan, who slots in to be the likely starter at LT in 2026.
Given his current level of play, and the fact that Morgan has still never started an NFL game at his true position, I’d say there’s lots of hope for Morgan’s future. As Packer fans, keep an eye on him this weekend as he will likely get another start. If he keeps playing this well, we are all going to be seeing a lot more of Jordan Morgan for years to come!
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