Packers take Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan with 25th overall pick in NFL draft

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers addressed a position of need and departed from their usual strategy of targeting defensive players in the first round by selecting Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan with the 25th overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.

This was only the second time in the past 13 drafts that the Packers have selected an offensive player with their first pick. The other instance came in 2020, when they traded up four spots to take Utah State quarterback Jordan Love at No. 26 overall.

After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament late in the 2022 season, Morgan came back and earned first-team all-Pac 12 honors as Arizona’s starting left tackle last year.

Green Bay needed to boost its offensive line after losing much of its depth there over the past month. The Packers released left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had played just 13 games over the past three seasons because of chronic knee problems, and lost guard Jon Runyan Jr. and reserve tackle Yosh Nijman in free agency.

Last year, Green Bay didn’t draft any offensive linemen for the first time since 2015. The Packers had a pair of first-year starters at offensive tackle last year with Rasheed Walker on the left side and Zach Tom on the right side.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press