The Green Bay Packers selected offensive tackle Jordan Morgan in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and Bill Belichick expects him to have a significant effect. While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, the former New England Patriots head coach discussed Morgan, who was an All-Pac 12 player at Arizona.
“He’s a left tackle all the way,” Belichick explained. He tore his ACL but returned to play his final year at Arizona for Jedd Fisch last year. …Jordan is a high-quality kid who is highly clever, a good pass-protector, and quite athletic. “He is a good football player.”
Belichick added that Morgan will play left tackle but “needs to get a little stronger in the lower body.” The eight-time Super Bowl winning coach said, “He’s a good football player.” “He has a promising future.” Belichick also stated that a guy like Morgan “don’t grow on trees” due to his stature and athleticism.
“There was no way he was getting out of the first round,” Belichick said of Morgan. “I think there are other teams that would have taken him if [the Packers] didn’t.”
Why did the Packers choose Jordan Morgan in the first round?
Morgan appeared in all twelve games for the Arizona Wildcats in 2023. In addition to being chosen to the All-Pacific 12 First Team, the 22-year-old was named an All-American by CBS Sports and 247Sports. Morgan’s bio states that he led Arizona’s offensive line in total blocking grade (84.3), run-blocking grade (77.0), and pass-blocking grade (87.3).
“I think he can play all four spots,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters, referring to guard and tackle, according to the Packers’ official website. “We’re fortunate enough that we’ve got a lot of guys in our group right now that can do that, and so I think we’ll kind of let the best five battle it out and see where that ends up.”
Morgan made draft history by becoming the first Arizona offensive lineman taken in the first round since the Buffalo Bills selected John Fina at No. 27 in 1992. Morgan sustained a torn ACL in November 2022 and worked tirelessly to be ready in 2023, making this a significant accomplishment.
“I pushed myself quite hard. “I didn’t want to feel like a liability,” Morgan explained. “I felt like I was leaving my team in the dust by sitting on the bench and recovering from an injury; I didn’t want that to happen. That was sort of my incentive to get back on the field with my teammates.”
