The Packers’ offensive line has become one of the most interesting moving parts of their offseason, and Anthony Belton is right in the middle of it.
Green Bay opened OTAs with uncertainty up front after losing Elgton Jenkins and Rasheed Walker this offseason. Those departures, along with the exits of receivers Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, put more pressure on the team’s younger players to deliver this fall.
Belton, the Packers’ 2025 second-round pick, is one of the names drawing the most attention. ESPN’s Ben Solak pointed to him as a breakout candidate and said the move from tackle to guard could unlock a much better path for him. Solak said Belton could have a "rosy future" on the interior of the offensive line.
"I never liked the idea of Belton as the developmental tackle -- I just didn't see enough foot speed there to survive against top-tier edge rushers," he wrote. "But now that the Packers have finished experimenting with Belton as a swing tackle and committed to playing him at right guard, I see a rosy future.
"Sure, Belton's play was largely up and down when he was in the lineup at guard as a rookie, but that was expected because he was a college left tackle and didn't really practice on the interior until the regular season. I'm willing to wash most of that down the drain."
That shift matters because Matt LaFleur still leans on the run game as the backbone of the offense, even if that approach could look different this season. The expectation is that Green Bay will run behind Belton at right guard, while Aaron Banks is projected to start at left guard.
Solak said Belton brings the kind of traits the Packers need to make their ground game go.
"Belton has the size, flexibility, and power to be a defining force in the running game -- something the Packers desperately need, as they typically run the ball from shotgun and need big-time vertical displacement," Solak wrote.
"Aaron Banks, who was a free agent disappointment in Year 1, was supposed to be that linchpin player. With a full offseason of prep, I believe it can be Belton instead."
In Other News...
Chris McClellan Is Already Giving Packers Fans A Reason To Revisit That Pick
Chris McClellan is already making the Packers feel a little better about a draft choice that raised some eyebrows in the moment. Green Bay took the defensive lineman at No. 77 overall, betting on his college production over the raw athleticism of other options, and the early returns from offseason work have been encouraging enough to keep that conversation alive in a different way.
Defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase said McClellan was picking up technique and scheme faster than expected during the first two days, and he has also been getting first-team reps in the offseason program. For a team looking to fortify the interior, especially with Micah Parsons set to miss the start of the season, that kind of early progress matters, even if the real verdict on the pick will take much longer to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Face A Brutal NFC North Reality
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The bigger concern is that the Packers could be forced to navigate the season with more questions than answers in key spots. Josh Jacobs status remains unsettled because of an ongoing legal case and possible league discipline, while the defense is waiting on Micah Parsons as he works back from a torn ACL with meniscus damage. In a division where every game tends to matter, that combination is enough to make a once-promising roster look a lot more fragile than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Suddenly Have A Season Defining Question Around Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs enters the Packers offseason with more uncertainty than anyone would have expected just a year ago. Green Bay is letting the legal process play out, and the league is doing the same, but the situation alone has turned one of the teams most important offensive pieces into a major storyline as the 2026 season approaches.
The football questions are piling up, too. Jacobs was already dealing with lingering ankle and knee issues late last season, and at 28, he is at the age when running backs start to face the usual durability and decline concerns. Even so, there remains a belief in league circles that he can still be a productive back, which is why the Packers suddenly have a real decision to make about how much they can count on him moving forward. [Read more 🡒]