GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Banks knows a bit about what Jordan Morgan went through early in his NFL career. Banks was a high draft pick forced to play out of position with mixed results early in his career, only to move back to his natural spot and become a full-time starter.
That's one reason Banks has a keen interest in Morgan.
The other is that they will line up next to each other on the Green Bay Packers' offensive line this year with Banks at left guard and Morgan -- finally -- at his preferred left tackle position.
For two seasons, the Packers force-fit Morgan into guard -- with 10 of his 13 career starts coming at either left or right guard -- after they picked him at No. 25 overall in the 2024 draft out of Arizona, where he played almost exclusively left tackle.
It reminded Banks of how his career began: as a second-round pick (No. 48 overall) by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 who thought for sure he would play his preferred left guard spot. Instead, they practiced him at right guard, and he couldn't get on the field. He played just five offensive snaps as a rookie. Meanwhile, Laken Tomlinson played 1,091 out of 1,091 offensive snaps at left guard.
"Me and J-Mo have some similarity," Banks said. "I came in my rookie year, they put me at right guard. I wasn't very good at right guard. But I came back that second year, [Tomlinson] had departed in free agency and what they told me was, 'Hey, it's your job to lose.'
"And I think that's the mindset that he's come in with -- like I'm not going to lose this. I'm doing everything I can to solidify myself as the left tackle for this team, and not just that but to challenge himself every day to be the best version of himself that he can be."
While Morgan played nearly 750 snaps last season after 186 as a rookie, he didn't get his first shot at left tackle until last year's regular-season finale at Minnesota when LaFleur rested several starters in advance of the playoffs. Morgan played 51 snaps at left tackle against the Vikings. But come the playoff game, it was back to right tackle, where he filled in for an injured Zach Bako-Bewele.
Coming out of college, some NFL teams viewed him as a guard because of his short-ish arms. They measured 32⅞ inches, which is below some teams' threshold of 34- or 35-inch arms to play tackle.
Morgan would hear none on it. On the first day of his rookie minicamp back in 2024, he laid out his plan.
"I'm trying to show that I'm a true left tackle and show I'll be out there on the edge to protect the quarterback," Morgan said.
Instead, the Packers stuck with Rasheed Walker for two more seasons. Walker had taken over for David Bahktiari, whose career ended because of recurring knee injuries one game into the 2023 season. Walker kept the starting job despite a strong training camp by Morgan last summer.
It was a season of inconsistency on the offensive line last year, culminating with a poor performance in the playoff loss to the Bears. It prompted the Packers to finally view it as time to give Morgan his shot, and they let Walker leave in free agency (he signed with the Carolina Panthers on just a one-year, $4 million contract).
"I think we're very comfortable with him there," general manager Brian Gutekunst said. "He's going to have to go out and do it over full season and year in and year out, but he's done a really nice job through the spring, really nice job so far. I'm looking forward to getting some more reps here in the preseason and then get ready for the regular season.
"We think he's got a super-bright future to be a really good player in this league. I'm sure he'll go through his ups and downs like they all do at that position because that's one of those positions where you're going to have some of that. But yeah, I'm excited for him."
While there has been some shuffling on the offensive line during training camp, it hasn't been at left tackle. It's been Morgan the entire time.
"I think it's one of those things where I just want to get to the games and see how we just keep building and how he looks out there," quarterback Jordan Love said. "But definitely got a lot of confidence in him, a lot of trust. That's one of those things where my back's going to be to him all game. So got to have that confidence that he's going to hold it down, and he's been doing great things."
In Morgan's preseason debut last week against the Steelers, he did not allow a pressure in 22 snaps. But it was a run block that stood out the most. Morgan got to the second level and flattened cornerback Jamel Dean.
"That is what the expectation is, and it's funny you bring that play up because I'm going to show that one [in the team meeting]," LaFleur said the day after the game. "That's something that we've definitely been stressing to not only the offensive line, but to every position. Football's an imperfect game, but the thing that you do control is your effort and physicality, and that is exactly, that is a play that I want to highlight."
It was a play by someone who looked like they'd been waiting two years for their chance.
"From OTAs to training camp, he's just been bought in and relentless working on his technique, doing stuff after practice, asking questions," Banks said. "Just really intentional in the way he's approach it -- not just practice but walk-throughs, meetings, everything we're doing. I just personally feel like I've seen a big leap of, I'm not going to say maturity because I don't think J-Mo's immature, but just growth from him from a mental standpoint, from an approach to the reps he's getting in practice to the individual drills, everything.
"From last year to this year, it's all been positive in my eyes."
