Jager Burton has wasted no time making life harder for Anthony Belton.
That matters in Green Bay because Belton, the Packers’ 2025 first-round pick at No. 54 out of North Carolina State, was already one of the more divisive names from that draft. The team asked a lot of him as a rookie, and he was thrown into seven starts while piling up nearly 500 snaps.
The results were uneven, which is putting it kindly. Even so, he is still projected to open 2026 as the Packers’ starting right guard.
That projection suddenly looks a lot less secure.
Burton, a fifth-round pick out of Kentucky, has turned heads during OTAs and minicamp and has already put himself in the conversation for an interior starting job. He played center in college, and that gives Green Bay a few different ways to use him.
One possibility is a direct challenge to Belton at guard. Another is Burton at center, with Sean Rhyan sliding over a spot and back to where he started.
However it gets sorted out, Burton’s emergence could force the Packers into a reshuffle.
That would not necessarily be a bad thing if Burton keeps looking like a steal and Belton doesn’t show meaningful growth over the summer. Belton still has the kind of raw upside that made him appealing in the first place, but so far that promise has not carried over to the NFL. PFF ranked him in the bottom 10 at his position, 81 qualified guards deep, and that lines up with what the tape has suggested.
There is context here, too. Belton was a rookie last season and was pushed into a job that was above his level because of injuries. He was not supposed to be starting.
The Packers also made their own bet on him this offseason. They let Elgton Jenkins and Rasheed Walker leave in free agency and, outside of drafting Burton, did not add another offensive lineman. With Rhyan and Jordan Morgan expected to move into full-time starting roles, that still left a spot for Belton.
For now, it remains his job to lose. But that feels a lot less settled than it did a few weeks ago. Burton has done everything he can to force his way into the picture, and if that keeps up, Belton is going to spend the summer under a very bright spotlight.
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