The Packers have spent much of the season patching together an offensive line that never really got the offseason help it needed, but Laken Tomlinson has quickly turned into the one steady hand in the middle of the mess.
Green Bay didn’t make a major move up front outside of drafting Jager Burton in the fifth round, and the loss to the Atlanta Falcons pushed the team into emergency mode. Over an 11-day stretch, the Packers signed Tomlinson, Kevin Zeitler, and Mekhi Becton to give Jordan Love more protection. So far, Tomlinson is the only one of the three who has actually taken offensive snaps.
Tomlinson got his first start at left guard in the Week 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has not given up a sack. In the last five games, he has allowed just seven pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. When Green Bay moved him to right guard in Week 5, he handled the switch without blinking, giving up only one pressure against the Carolina Panthers despite that spot being almost foreign territory for him.
That kind of stability has stood out because the rest of the group has been anything but settled. Aaron Banks returned from injury and was underwhelming, allowing five total pressures.
Zeitler still hasn’t made his Green Bay debut. And after the Packers lost right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele to a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, Anthony Belton slid into that job, leaving one fewer option inside at right guard.
The injuries kept piling up from there. Travis Glover, Sean Rhyan, and Jacob Monk have also missed time with different ailments, which only made the additions of Tomlinson, Becton, and Zeitler more important.
Green Bay now has some built-in insurance if the lineup keeps shifting. Zeitler could step in at right guard if Banks continues to struggle, with Tomlinson moving back to left guard.
Becton offers cover at both guard and tackle if Belton has trouble or the injury issues continue.
Still, the fact that the Packers needed all three signings after the regular season started says plenty about how the offseason was handled. Brian Gutekunst would have preferred not to be making these kinds of moves now if the depth had been addressed earlier.
Even with Tomlinson’s strong start, the line is far from fixed. The Packers still can’t run the ball, and Matt LaFleur has said as much.
Some of that falls on the backs for not popping big runs, but the line has to do a better job creating space. That kind of improvement will only come if the group can stay on the field together long enough to build some chemistry.
For all the issues - including a few that were self-inflicted - Green Bay is still 5-3 after beating Carolina on Thursday night. The offensive line remains a problem, but Tomlinson has given the Packers something they badly needed: a reliable presence.
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