Has Elgton Jenkins Salvaged His 2022 Season?

Last season the Green Bay Packers star versatile lineman Elgton Jenkins tore his ACL. He managed to work his way back into the lineup by week two, starting at RT for the Packers. Through week six he started there, and as most fans remember he struggled mightily. This sparked the Packers to swap him back to his natural side on the left, starting him at LG since week seven. But has Jenkins actually improved?

  Jenkins first start at LG came against the Washington Commanders where he appeared to still struggle a little bit, albeit not giving up a single pressure in the game. Following this Jenkins has gone on a run of good play, with one stinker game against Dallas where he ended up giving up 3 pressures. Since the Dallas game though, Jenkins has played at an elite level, allowing 0 pressures in the four games since, while also playing at an above average level as a run blocker. His overall grade on the season is up to a 74.4, which would be the second highest of his career, only behind his 2021 campaign. Breaking into this a little bit, his run blocking is nearly identical to his 2021 grade while his pass blocking grade is actually down to a 67.6 by far the lowest of his career. This is in part due to those first games as a RT, because Jenkins grading as a pass blocker since moving over has been nearly elite. 

  So the question is has Jenkins turned it around? I believe he has. Jenkins has given up 16 pressures on the year, but 12 of them came early on, when he was still at RT. Since moving back to his natural position Jenkins has played lights out as both a pass blocker and a run blocker, this is also coinciding with the emergence of this Packers offense. The bigger question to all of this is should the Packers pay Jenkins and keep him around. I believe they should. Even if he can’t play on the right side of the line, he has shown the versatility to play both LG and LT, a talent that should not be taken lightly.

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