Whether the Packers view Zach Tom as a starting right tackle or a starting center will dictate how they approach the 2024 NFL Draft.
Throughout last summer, there was thought that the Packers could give Tom some snaps at center to potentially push Josh Myers for the starting job. However, outside of some reps here and there, he primarily lined up at right tackle, which is where he would spend the entire 2023 season.
By season’s end, Tom would face seven of the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers in total pressures and handled himself quite well, ranking 13th among all tackles in pass-blocking efficiency.
Tom showcased that he can be a very good right tackle, but the Packers believe he has the potential to be among the elite if he were to play center.
“I was told by a couple of people within the organization,” said ESPN’s Rob Demovsky on the “Wilde and Tausch Show” on Friday“they think Zach Tom is a Pro Bowl right tackle, an All-Pro guard and a potential Hall of Fame center.”
If this is how the Packers truly feel, then to me, it’s a no-brainer: Tom should be starting at center.
I know tackle is a more premium position than center and a more difficult role to fill. And I know Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur will talk about wanting to put the best five players on the field, moving guys around, and seemingly throwing caution to the wind.
But the tone of this discussion drastically shifts when the words “Hall of Fame” enter the conversation. This is no longer about trying to find an upgrade for Myers. This is now about potentially having elite play for the next decade. There are a lot of Pro Bowlers out there, but there are very few Hall of Famers.
And with that, a potential move to center for Tom alters the Packers’ approach in the draft. If it is their ultimate goal to have him starting there this season, then the odds of the Packers drafting a tackle in the first round increases somewhat significantly.
With Tom at center, the Packers only tackle options on the roster currently are Rasheed Walker, who will be at left tackle, along with Caleb Jones and Luke Tenuta, two developmental players with seven combined NFL snaps.
At this point, taking a tackle early becomes a must if this is the path the Packers want to go down. The good news is that this draft class is loaded at the position. On Daniel Jeremiah’s big board, he had seven tackles within his top-22 overall prospects.
I would even say that the need at tackle in this scenario warrants the Packers trying to trade up to the mid-to-late teens if a player like JC Latham or Olu Fashanu is still on the board.
On the flip side, if Tom were to stay at right tackle, while I still believe adding to this position should be done, it would no longer be in the must category in the first round.
Now, with all that said, I will note that since we are less than two weeks out from the NFL draft, we are in the midst of lying season. And the skeptic in all of us can ask why an organization often as tight-lipped as the Packers would want that information out there.
Admittedly, there are still a lot of unknowns around these comments, and we may not get any answers until training camp begins and we see what the starting offensive line configurations look like.
But how the draft unfolds will play a key role in determining whether or not this move for Tom is feasible this season because right now, with how the tackle position is made up, it’s not an option.
2024-04-13 11:57:00
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