The Packers are running out of reasons to keep Jager Burton on the sideline.
Green Bay heads into Week 2 with its offensive line already looking shaky after the Week 1 collapse against the Vikings, and Burton keeps standing out as the most obvious in-house fix. The rookie out of Kentucky came into the league as a fifth-round pick, but his background gives the Packers something they badly need: real flexibility. He played center in college, and he also has experience at both guard spots.
That versatility matters because the options around him have not exactly inspired confidence. Green Bay has been leaning on a mix that includes Donovan Jennings, Anthony Belton, Jacob Monk, Sean Rhyan and Aaron Banks, and the results have been rough enough to make Burton’s case hard to ignore. The Packers pride themselves on moving linemen around, and Burton fits that mold better than most.
The numbers from Week 1 only sharpen the point. Peter Bukowski posted that the Packers offense allowed a 39% quick pressure rate against the Vikings, calling it “a 0th% performance.” Andy Herman also shared PFF grades for the Packers’ Week 1 offensive line that underscored how uneven the unit looked, with Zach Bako-Bewele at 59.9, Sean Rhyan at 57.3, Jacob Monk at 54.9, Jordan Morgan at 47.2 and Donovan Jennings at 39.3.
Burton’s case got another boost when SI.com’s Bill Huber reported that former Bengals starting left guard Cordell Volson signed to the Packers’ practice squad. That move did little to change the picture. Burton still looks like the better answer, especially when the current interior group has been so unstable.
There’s also the simple fact that Burton keeps showing enough to stay in the conversation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Lori Nickel reported that he continues to split reps with the first- and second-team offense, and she also documented Burton talking about what he picked up while watching the Vikings game from the sideline.
"I'm a big chess player, and when I'm mentally sitting there, it's very similar... You can kind of see someone's strategy, and it's interesting.
Their strategy isn't something that people use a lot. Like, it's really boom or bust.
You get a sack or it's a big gain. [...]
I mean, at the end of the day... I feel like I would always feel like I was ready to play."
That sounds like a player who believes he’s prepared for the job, and the Packers may be getting close to the point where they have to listen. Burton was praised at the time of the draft as an elite athlete, with Eric Galko noting on April 25, 2026, that he was a “future starting Center,” a “Mauler,” and “At 6’4, 320+, he’s an ELITE athlete (4.45 short shuttle, 99% athlete per RAS) and has played LG, RG and OC at Kentucky.”
For now, Green Bay still has to decide where to put him. The clearest path may be at right guard over Monk or Belton, with left guard another possible option if Aaron Banks can’t settle in. But the longer Burton stays buried, the more the Packers risk letting a bad line situation get even worse.
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