GREEN BAY – Aaron Banks isn't the most outwardly vocal guy along the Packers' offensive line.
His understated nature shouldn't be mistaken for keeping to himself, though, at least not amongst his teammates.
As the veteran left guard settles into his second season in Green Bay, Banks is taking a new leadership role on the unit seriously. He's not the longest-tenured Packers offensive lineman – that would be right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (formerly Tom) – but Banks is the oldest, turning 29 in a month.
He's also not the only leader now that Elgton Jenkins is no longer around, as Bako-Bewele is looked to as one, and new center Sean Rhyan earned himself a new contract this spring, too.
But since Banks got the 2025 season to learn the landscape in Green Bay and get acclimated to his new team, he's embracing his status as the elder statesman in the room, along with the responsibility that brings to speak up and keep everybody connected.
"Yeah, I've been attacking that," Banks said of being more vocal. "I'm not like a super rah-rah guy, so to say. I like to lead by action, lead by work ethic. But I've been attacking it, and the guys are taking it great. They support me in that, and we just all support each other."
Banks isn't full-go in training camp quite yet, dealing with some soreness in his knee that has kept him limited to individual drills thus far. Neither he nor Bako-Bewele, who had knee surgery in the offseason, is taking 11-on-11 snaps yet, and Head Coach Matt LaFleur said Sunday Banks' workload will be managed to see how his body responds.
Banks insists his health is in a different place than last year, though, when a relative laundry list of minor issues (back, groin, etc.) kept him sidelined for two early-season games and prevented him from really hitting his stride until the back half of the year.
It's not the beginning the high-priced free agent wanted with his new team after four years with the 49ers. A second-round pick in the 2021 draft out of Notre Dame, Banks cracked the San Francisco lineup in his second season and started 49 games, including playoffs, from 2022-24.
He's looking for Year 2 in Green Bay to be different while drawing on some lessons from his days as the young pup out west.
His rookie season in 2021, the 49ers' vaunted offensive line was led by tackle Trent Williams, center Alex Mack and guard Laken Tomlinson. The first two have a combined 19 Pro Bowl and eight All-Pro selections between them, and the third earned his first career Pro Bowl nod that year.
While adjusting to the pro game on the field, Banks was paying attention to how they went about their business off the field as well.
"I was fortunate to play with a number of older vets, a bunch of vested guys," Banks said. "You obviously watch how they move and how they lead the group in hopes that one day you get to lead your own group. So I've definitely taken notes from those guys."
Such as strategic seating. In the meeting room, Banks sits squarely between Rhyan, who's now at center playing right next to Banks, and second-year lineman Anthony Belton, who made the transition from college tackle to pro guard as a rookie last year.
Their conversations during film study are rather robust, or as much as they can be without interrupting the meeting. But that's why they sit together – "No empty seat in between," Banks said – with the oldest guy right in the middle.
"We all talk to each other constantly, just looking at the film, and (it's important) being able to coach each other and not take anything personal," Rhyan said. "If he's got to call me out on something, I'm not biting back at him, because I know at the end of the day we're working toward a common goal.
"It's been nice to have 'OG' over there. It's been good."
So Banks is the OG, huh?
"Yeah, we'll call him 'Unc' or 'OG,'" Rhyan said. "Being the oldest in the room, you get that title whether you want it or not."
On a more serious note, the Banks-led conversations have been invaluable for the new guard Belton during a position transition he didn't necessarily anticipate after making all 32 of his college starts at left tackle.
"That helps a lot," Belton said. "He's going into, what, Year 5 or 6? So he's been in the game, he's played that position pretty much his whole career, so he's an older guy that I can lean on. He can put things in perspective because he's done it."
Added Banks: "I talk to him all the time, and I'm telling him what I see, what I think he can do to help himself. He asks a lot of questions that (show) he genuinely wants to get better, and he asks good questions, so I'm doing everything I can to help bring him along."
Banks has expressed the utmost confidence in Belton, and done the same with Jordan Morgan as the 2024 first-round draft pick takes over at left tackle. He believes in his young teammates as much as he believes his and Bako-Bewele's leadership can elevate a unit that was regularly in flux due to injuries a year ago.
It's a different spot for Banks compared to his 49er days and his first year with the Packers, but the longer he's in it, the more he likes it and plans to make the most of it.
"The relationship with the guys compared to this time last year, I was still getting to know guys," he said. "Now that I spent the season with everybody, just coming in, walking through the door, and having a really good relationship with the guys, I think it's big.
"You know, they trust me. I trust them … You come into a place and you've got to build that. You have to build the relationship, the trust, and just the love for everybody, and so I feel like that's all established now. And now we're just going to hit the ground running."
