As the boos cascaded down from the Lambeau Field bleachers and onto the Green Bay Packers (1-2) in the midst of a 35-14 "Thursday Night Football" beatdown at the hands of the previously 0-2 Atlanta Falcons (1-2), general manager Brian Gutekunst knew he had to do something. There was too much evidence to ignore.
After the Packers' largest home loss in eight seasons under coach Matt LaFleur, the numbers were eye-popping, but not in a positive direction. Green Bay has trailed by double-digit points in each of the first three games of a season for the first time since 2014. In Week 3, the Packers were outrushed 242 yards to 17, the third-worst such margin for the proud franchise since 1980. Green Bay's 146 total team rushing yards are the fewest in the NFL through 9 weeks, and 97 fewer than the next-closest team, the Denver Broncos, with 243. LaFleur doesn't trust his team's ability to run football, calling run plays on just 26.7% of the team's plays. The next-closest team is the Carolina Panthers, with a 34.2% run rate.
Green Bay's passing offense is similarly struggling despite quarterback Jordan Love being one of the league's most efficient passers since becoming the Packers' starting quarterback in 2023. Despite tossing multiple touchdowns in all three games this season, Love is uncharacteristically struggling with his accuracy in 2026 with a 52.4% completion percentage, the second-worst in the league. Why? He's been pressured 59 times, the second-most in the NFL, with only Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, who has been pressured 62 times, having been pressured more. Love's 28% off-target rate when pressured this season is the highest in the league, and as a result, the Packers are the least efficient third-down offense, converting for first downs at an NFL-low 27.8% rate.
Why is all this happening now after the Packers have had the league's 10th-highest scoring offense (24.2 points per game) across Love's first three seasons from 2023 to 2025? Green Bay horrifically miscalculated what they had along their offensive line. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele, one of the league's best at his position, went down in Week 2 at the New York Jets with a patellar tendon tear. Left guard Aaron Banks has been in and out of the line with injuries as well. The rest of the line, outside of center Sean Rhyan, have looked young and overwhelmed. The 2026 season is 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan's first being able to start at his collegiate position, left tackle, and the rest of the young linemen at left guard (undrafted second-year vet Donovan Jennings and 2026 fifth-round pick Jager Burton), right guard (2024 fifth-round pick Jacob Monk) and right tackle (2025 second-round pick Anthony Belton) simply can't hang as NFL starters at their respective positions at the moment.
Help has arrived
That's why Gutekunst has now signed three new veteran offensive linemen. On Monday, they signed 11-year Pro Bowl veteran left guard Laken Tomlinson, who has 162 career starts. Former first-round pick offensive lineman Mekhi Becton came on board just after Tomlinson on Monday, and the 2020 NFL Draft's 11th overall pick has experience starting at both guard and tackle. On Wednesday came the cherry on top with Green Bay signing Pro Bowl right guard Kevin Zeitler, per ESPN.
Two of the three, Tomlinson and Zeitler, have been Pro Bowlers and could provide a steady, stabilizing presence even in their mid-thirties. Becton was a starting guard for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 season. The great news about all three of these signings is it shouldn't take long for them to get acclimated to LaFleur's playbook. Tomlinson spent five years playing for Kyle Shanahan's San Francisco 49ers (2017-2021) before playing for LaFleur's younger brother Mike (2022) and LaFleur's ex-offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett (2023) with the New York Jets. Becton was also a Jet during that time. Zeitler, who is 36 years old and entering his 15th NFL season in 2026, has seen it all and is no stranger to picking up a new playbook.
So what could a retooled Packers offensive line look like with these additions? There are two likely starting-five combinations up front, from left to right.
- Option 1: Morgan, Tomlinson, Rhyan, Zeitler and Belton with Becton as the swing offensive lineman
- Option 2: Morgan, Tomlinson, Rhyan, Zeitler and Becton with Belton as the swing offensive lineman
Either combination should, at a minimum, give Love more time to throw to wide receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden and tight end Tucker Kraft. Watson ranks fifth in the league in receiving yards (284) and third in the league in receiving touchdowns (3). Golden, a 2025 first-round pick, is fresh off the best game of his career with 100 yards receiving and a touchdown on 5 catches in Week 3. Kraft looked like a future All-Pro prior to his midseason ACL injury a year ago, and he's moving better by the week in his return season from the devastating injury. Simply plugging these vets into the lineup should fix the passing game. As for the running game, MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson, two third-round pick running backs filling in for a sidelined Josh Jacobs, will likely look a touch better with a revamped line in front of them.
Green Bay had to do something as its 2026 squad became just the second since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to rank last as a team in both completion percentage and rushing yards per game through three weeks, along with the 1989 Dallas Cowboys. That Cowboys team went 1-15 in 1989, the first overall pick quarterback Troy Aikman's rookie year. Naturally, Gutekunst did everything he could to fix his offensive line ASAP by raiding the veteran free agent bargain bin. Now, it's time to see if LaFleur and Love can salvage the Packers' 2026 season with an upgraded, patchwork offensive line. If not, Gutekunst and LaFleur will feel the heat for drastically overrating their in-house youth along the offensive line.
