Matt LaFleur on potential Packers starter Lane Taylor: ‘Somebody we know we can count on’
The last 12 or so months have certainly been interesting for Green Bay Packers guard Lane Taylor.
He won a training camp competition at left guard last August, but just barely. He got hurt during practice after just two games and missed the rest of the season. He took a paycut to return to Green Bay, knowing four of last year’s five starters along the offensive line returned, including both guards. And now he might be on the verge of winning another starting job for Matt LaFleur, this time at right guard.
“I think Lane is a pro. He goes out every day and competes to the best of his ability. He has a lot of experience. He’s somebody we know we can count on,” LaFleur said Monday.
Taylor has 49 career starts, including 45 – primarily at left guard – between 2016 and 2018. Although Elgton Jenkins is locked in as the starting left guard, Taylor is in a position to win the job at right guard to start 2020, even though Billy Turner – who played all 16 games there last season – returned. Turner is also competing with Rick Wagner to start at right tackle.
Keeping Taylor out of the starting five might be difficult.
According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Taylor finished a perfect 14-0 in one-on-one pass-blocking drills during training camp. The one-on-one position drills are just one piece of the evaluation puzzle, but Taylor’s impressive individual record does highlight how effective he’s been after returning from last year’s season-ending biceps injury.
At the very least, Taylor’s work this summer has provided the Packers with options. His ability to handle right guard without issue has allowed for a true competition between Turner and Wagner at right tackle,
The Packers must now decide in the next 12 days which five players will start along the offensive line. LaFleur said he’ll continue to work the various combinations, including one with Taylor as the starting right guard, as the Packers prepare to take on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1.
“I think that’s still very much in play right now. We’re still working through those combinations. Until we feel we have the right five, we’re going to continue it that way,” LaFleur said.
