Elgton Jenkins gets vote of confidence from Packers amid rusty return from ACL ... for now

Matt LaFleur proved he wasn’t afraid of rotating his All-Pro left tackle with Yosh Nijman as the former worked his way back from a near two-year ACL injury. But would he consider replacing his other potential All-Pro tackle who is coming off an ACL injury?

For a coach who prides himself on getting the best five on the field, LaFleur would have to at least consider such a move with the way Elgton Jenkins has been slow to adjust to right tackle, at least in pass protection, right?

At least for now, the Packers are sticking with Jenkins with the patience shown by this Green Bay coaching staff.

That’s not to say it’s been an easy decision, with Jenkins allowing three pressures in each game he’s played so far this season and particularly struggling with the New England Patriots’ Matthew Judon on Sunday. On the flip side, Nijman’s play stacked up as indistinguishable from David Bakhtiari in their rotation, with the former undrafted free agent grading out as one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the league according to Pro Football Focus.

Last week, Jason wrote about the emergence of Nijman as an important figure for the Packers.

LaFleur preaches flexibility and cross-training along the offensive line. Get your best five on the field, he says. Admitting the team is considering Nijman on the right side, where he played in college at Virginia Tech, felt like an important moment of honesty from a notoriously tight-lipped coach.

“I think potentially,” LaFleur said when asking if getting Nijman on the field would be the optimal way to put the proverbial best five linemen out there.

“That is something we have definitely talked about. … We’ll continue to do the best job we can, in terms of repping these guys throughout the course of the week and practice. That’s definitely been something we’ve talked about and haven’t made a decision on that yet.”