Paul Bretl | 5/29/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The addition of Aaron Banks this offseason during free agency brings a few different elements to the Packers’ offensive line, including big game experience after playing four games in San Francisco, added leadership, more flexibility up front, along with size and physicality.
“I bring physicality,” said Banks following Wednesday’s OTA practice. “I think I bring leadership and experience, being that I’ve played a number of playoff games. I’ve played a lot of football, and in a similar scheme. So, I think just a veteran presence, but also still young.”
Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘The Paul Bretl Show’ for more Packers coverage
Listed at 6-5 and weighing 325 pounds, Banks is the third-heaviest player on this 2025 Packers roster. And with that size comes a physical play style.
By PFF’s metrics, Banks is at his best in the run game, which last season included ranking 23rd in PFF’s run-blocking grade. In pass protection, Banks gave up only one sack and four quarterback hits over 471 pass-blocking snaps. He would rank 37th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency metric out of 80 eligible guards.
“Love Banks’ physicality,” said offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich. “I think he’s really going to step up our game there. Just a good veteran presence. I think he’s a guy that we’re going to lean on in a lot of different situations. I’m excited about having him in there to up our physicality, for sure.”
By adding Banks to the offensive line unit back in March, it became clear that the Packers were going to further lean into the gap-heavy running scheme that we saw regularly last season with Josh Jacobs at running back.
Rather than being more of an outside zone running team, which is what we had seen in previous years under Matt LaFleur, where the running back and offensive linemen get into space as the ball carrier looks for a running lane to open up, we saw much more rushing between the tackles, and getting north and south, which suited Jacobs’ skill set best.
An interior offensive line that includes Banks, along with Elgton Jenkins at center and presumably Sean Rhyan at right guard, is better equipped to flourish in a power-running scheme.
“He’s a pretty big guy out there,” LaFleur said of Banks. “He’s played a lot of football, and there’s a lot of similarities in regards to the scheme from where he came from to what we do. So I think he provides us with – obviously we know what he’s capable of doing – but it also provides us with a lot of flexibility with everyone else around him.”
As stout as the Packers’ rushing attack was last season, an area of growth for this group is in generating explosive plays. Last season, Jacobs would rank 32nd in PFF’s breakaway rate, which measures how often a ball carrier generated a run of 15-plus yards. Jacobs’ 4.4 yards per rush was tied for 20th, and a very hefty amount–1,113 of Jacobs’ 1,410 rushing yards–came after contact.
So, how can the Packers’ run game produce more big plays? The offensive line can help Jacobs get to the second level more cleanly and do so more often. Rushes of four, five, or six yards are great and keep an offense ahead of the sticks, but explosive plays put up points.
“I think it’s a balance,” said Banks about the run game. “I think he (Jacobs) makes our jobs easier and, vice-versa, we make his job easier. So, it’s really just working together and all being on the same page, trusting him to set up our blocks and trusting him to, when it comes down to it, he’s one-on-one with the guy and schematically it’s written up for him to make a guy miss, he’s going to make a guy miss and he’ll score. So, it’s a good balance between them two.”
During Wednesday’s first OTA practice, Banks was slotted in at left guard, which is where he played with the 49ers and will continue to do so in Green Bay. While movement and competition are hallmarks for this offensive line unit, Banks will be locked into the starting left guard role.
GM Brian Gutekunst clearly prioritized getting bigger along the offensive line this offseason. This not only includes signing Banks, but drafting Anthony Belton (6-6, 335) and John Williams (6-4, 322) as well. However, versatility and athleticism are still key traits that we see up front with this unit, and with that, there will be more competition at multiple spots this summer.
“You’ve got a number of guys who are like Swiss Army knives,” Banks said. “Not only large but guys who can move, so we can get around the edge, we can go run down linebackers. We can also set up double teams and move people vertically off the ball. So, I think just the versatility of the guys that are up front, I think we’ve got a good group.”
For the most part, the Packers’ offensive line unit held up well last season, particularly in pass protection, but in part due to injuries, we saw the offensive line falter in Green Bay’s playoff loss to Philadelphia. In that matchup, Jordan Love was under duress often and the run game couldn’t get going consistently enough.
Naturally, all eyes will be on Love and the Packers’ wide receivers, but consistent success begins with the offensive line providing a run game to lean on and time in the pocket. And if we are going to continue to see a more run-centric offense, the ability to generate explosive plays has to be more prevalent this season.
“I think that’s where these days are really important,” said Banks of OTAs. “They’re really important. Just making sure everybody’s dialed in, locked in, and we’re working together, we’re communicating, and we all have the same goal. We all want to go win every Sunday and, in total, win a Super Bowl. So, I think when you get a group of like-minded guys who all want to do that – there’s nothing wrong with guys competing for a spot. Competition makes guys better.”