Packers Star’s Position Change Tabbed a ‘Bust’ Amid Offensive Struggles
Back in Week 3, after the Packers‘ disastrous loss on the road to the Browns, two-time Pro Bowl lineman Elgton Jenkins was pretty brutal in his self-assessment. The offensive line was beat up, generally speaking, with injuries to Aaron Banks and Zach Tom, and certainly, there is no shame in being outdone by a defensive front as stout as that of Cleveland.
But Jenkins had rated a season-low Pro Football Focus grade of 33.6 that week, and said of his performance, “I feel like I’m playing like (expletive), honestly. I can play way better.”
In the month-and-a-half that has followed, it’s debatable whether Jenkins has, actually, played all that much better. Jenkins has been with the Packers since 2019–he was a second-round pick that year–and has gradually moved inside, from tackle to guard and now, to center in 2025, for the first time in his career.
And around the team, there is a bubbling sense that maybe moving him to the middle of the line–a move done to facilitate the signing of Banks–was a mistake.
Packers Made the Switch on Elgton Jenkins This Offseason
In fact, veteran Packers writer Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com called the move something more than a mistake by the team. He called the Jenkins-at-center venture a “bust,” and wondered if Jenkins was not right to be lukewarm on making the move.
Wrote Dougherty: “I thought Jenkins would be really good. He’d played there his last two seasons in college, and whenever the Packers played him there because of injuries he looked promising. But he has been an average center.”
Elgton Jenkins a ‘Bust’ at Center
Jenkins, according to PFF, has not been great at center, logging a grade of 62.1, which is 21st out of 35 at the position. And there could be an adjustment period for a guy still getting accustomed to making the calls at the line.
But Dougherty was harsh in summing up the move: “Maybe his wariness of moving to center is showing up in his play. Maybe age and injury are showing (he turns 30 in December, had an ACL tear earlier in his career and a back injury in camp and early this season. The move so far has been a bust.”
Packers Run Game Struggling
At some point, the Packers simply need to improve their run blocking, which will take a raising of the game from all the team’s blockers. The Packers were among the best teams in the NFL rushing the ball last season, and finished with 100-plus yards on the ground in 16 of 18 games, including the playoffs (they had 99 yards in one other game).
With 2,496 yards rushing, the team was fifth in the NFL last year. They’re 16th with 903 yards rushing this season, and have come in with fewer than 100 yards rushing four times already.
There’s no doubt that falls to the offensive line, which is allowing far too much contact on running back Josh Jacobs far too early in plays.
The tackles–Rasheed Walker and Tom–have been doing a good job blocking for the run. But the interior linemen have struggled, in part because of Jenkins and in part because the Packers have had to shuffle linemen because of injuries.
“It’s definitely frustrating but, at the end of the day, I can only control what I can control and I can only bring what I do,” Jacobs said . “I can only trust the guys that they’re going to do what they’re supposed to do. Eventually things are going to hit. We still feel it. We be close on a lot of things. It might be one mental error here or one mental error there or whatever. We just need to be locked in and be focused on what we need to do.”
Garrett Wilson sends strong message to Jets about their fire sale
The New York Jets traded away two of their best players on Tuesday, and star wide receiver Garrett Wilson has now made his feelings on the blockbuster moves clear.
The Jets stunned the NFL ahead of the trade deadline when they sent All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for two first-round draft picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell. A short while later, New York traded three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
Wilson was asked on Thursday for his reaction to Gardner and Williams being traded. He said he has no choice but to trust the front office, though he repeated the phrase "I hate it" several times.
"Like I said, I don't get paid to have the vision. They do, and they've got one. I gotta trust them, man, I do," Wilson said. "My emotions, that side of it, I hate it. I hate it. I play football. I play with my brothers. I get to know my brothers. I hate it, but I'm paid to play football. No one cares if I hate it. Go catch the ball, you know what I'm saying?"
Garrett Wilson opens up on his feelings after the Jets traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams:
"I don't get paid to have a vision, [the Jets] do - and they've got one. I've got to trust it, man. I do.
My emotions, that side of it...I hate it. I hate it. I play football,… pic.twitter.com/OATgktPSga — Jets Videos (@snyjets) November 6, 2025
Garrett Wilson has seen a lot of change
Wilson is in only his fourth NFL season, but he has seen as much significant change with the Jets as many players experience in their entire careers.
Wilson has already played with eight different quarterbacks. He somehow managed to rack up more than 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three NFL seasons even with the absurd amount of turnover the Jets have had at the QB position.
Now, Wilson has watched New York trade away two of its franchise cornerstones in exchange for draft capital. It's only natural for him to be bothered by that.
Wilson signed a four-year, $130M extension with the Jets this past offseason. He has 36 catches for 395 yards and four touchdowns in six games this year. It will be interesting to see if New York entertains trade offers for him after the 2025 season.
Steve DelVecchio
Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country
