GREEN BAY – Jacob Monk is getting a long, serious look at starting for the Packers at right guard.
A fifth-round draft pick out of Duke in 2024, Monk started his third NFL training camp by taking first-team snaps at left guard in Aaron Banks' place. Banks has been dealing with a knee injury and doing individual drills only, not 11-on-11.
Then, with starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele returning from offseason knee surgery and also not yet doing 11-on-11, other combinations were tried up front last week. Monk got some first-team work at right guard with the prior starter, Anthony Belton, sliding out to right tackle. Guard rotations involving rookie Jager Burton, Donovan Jennings and Belton ensued.
But things changed Sunday during an indoor workout in the Don Hutson Center. When Bako-Bewele took his first 11-on-11 snaps of camp, Monk was at right guard with the starting unit, not Belton. And Monk stayed there, with Belton stepping in only at right tackle for the limited Bako-Bewele.
The move indicates the coaches like what they've seen from Monk (6-3, 308), and that he's now ahead of Belton at that spot.
It's still early, of course, with all three preseason games remaining, so Monk isn't reading too much into it. Asked about the opportunity that appears to be in front of him, he spoke of staying present and the need to improve every day.
"But I'll tell you that I'm thankful to be here," he said. "I'm thankful to get an opportunity to play football each and every day. I'm just real grateful."
That attitude stems in part from Monk's difficult offseason, which followed a tough injury in 2025.
Preseason hamstring trouble last summer sidelined him multiple months, but he was recovered by midseason and able to start in Week 18 at Minnesota while starters rested for the playoffs. That first NFL start impressed the coaches, but Monk proceeded to tear his biceps the following week at Chicago while blocking on a field goal attempt.
The injury required surgery and a long rehab road, keeping Monk out of all the on-field work in the spring. He worked with the athletic trainers in Green Bay and did physical therapy back at Duke, confident all along he'd be ready for training camp.
All he's done since is show that his impressive game in Minnesota, which came at center, was no fluke. Both Head Coach Matt LaFleur and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich have raved this month about Monk's "play style," which is hard-nosed, plus quick and strong off the ball. LaFleur then noted after Family Night that Monk is "pushing to crack the lineup."
"I feel like there's only one way to play the game and it's fast, physical, and aggressive," Monk said. "That's really all that is.
"I know as long as you play hard and play fast, you always have a chance on each and every play. Every play's not going to be perfect, but strain and finish will help you."
The Packers like Monk's ability to play any of the three interior spots on the offensive line, so even if he doesn't land a starting job, he'll be valuable off the bench.
Nobody's writing off Belton yet, either. The 2025 second-round pick was a college tackle at North Carolina State but shifted to guard and started down the stretch last season. A big mauler (6-6, 336), Belton admits he needs to be stouter in pass protection, and LaFleur said the team is still excited about him as a young, developing player.
So where this goes from here, time will tell.
Monk is eagerly anticipating Thursday's preseason opener in Pittsburgh, where he'll get the chance to prove he's truly picked up where he left off in Minnesota, repaired biceps be darned.
It sounds like the coaches are just as fired up to see him in game action again, too.
"You talk about a guy that plays to the play style that we want," LaFleur said. "He shows that toughness, that grittiness, the strain …"
He'd like to show something more as well.
"I just want to be consistent in everything I do," Monk said. "I think they've always known I'm gonna play hard, I'm gonna give everything I have. But I just want to show them I can be consistent with everything, too."
