Packers guard Elgton Jenkins learned about leadership from the veterans he started with, now he’s imparting his own style

GREEN BAY – When Elgton Jenkins was on his way to earning all-rookie team honors in 2019 – only the second Green Bay Packers guard to do so in more than four decades – he felt fortunate to have open-minded and experienced offensive linemates next to him.

He could ask for everyday advice from Billy Turner and he could go to David Bakhtiari for technical questions. He could ask Bryan Bulaga about assignments and Corey Linsley anything from his professional routine.

Though these teammates had many years on Jenkins, he always has been comfortable with an older crowd anyway, so he never hesitated to pose different questions for the very different personalities.

“I asked a lot of questions,” Jenkins said. “A lot of questions. I got their wisdom before my time,”

But not everyone feels that comfortable, so the now-27-year-old thinks it is time to reciprocate – and just in time for the 5-6 Packers, who have won two straight games to revive the pulse of their season. Jenkins always has aspired to be a leader for the Packers and he’s made more of an effort to do that.

Leadership is something that can be hard to define, and even harder to exhibit, in a locker room full of 75 players, under a coaching staff so big it needs its own bus. But Jenkins was ready to lead in his own particular way.

“He was more vocal in our O-line group when we were going through that slump,” center Josh Myers said. “And our O-line wasn’t playing super well. He stepped up and did a nice job talking to us. He’s just more vocal – in everything.”

Jenkins’ leadership style starts with a simple, and yet very challenging, premise.

“Your opinion matters. Even if it’s not the right opinion, you can talk about that,” Jenkins said. “But − let everybody have an opinion, so you can breathe within your work.”

Quarterback Jordan Love is the team leader by position, but he doesn’t have time realistically to hear every opinion. So the leadership role has to be shared and value the ideas of everyone, longtime Packers and newcomers, alike.

“You always want to hear what guys got to say and how they feel,” Jenkins said. “Because they can be thinking one thing and thinking that is correct. But you can’t get their perspective on it or know how they feel about if you only give your perspective.”

Jenkins wants the open dialogue because he is interested in correcting mistakes in a way that sometimes only players can self-diagnose. There can be a tighter bond among the people who actually are on the field making the plays and enduring the storms.

“I just try to be there for them,” Jenkins said. “When I was younger, I was like, I want to be one of those guys where I give everybody a chance to say what they want. That’s how we grow as a team, how we grow with each other for sure.”

There are qualifications to lead like this. Love was not sacked in the stunning Thanksgiving Day upset win over Detroit. That’s one of the benchmarks Jenkins looks for in a job well done. The other is producing a 100-yard rusher per game. To him, the running game is not devalued.

Other than missing two games this season with a knee injury, Jenkins has played well this season, adding to his already impressive resume. Remember:

• Jenkins made his first Pro Bowl in 2020, and became just the third offensive lineman in team history to do so in his first two seasons in the NFL (the others were Deral Teteak in 1952 and Charley Brock in 1940).

• Jenkins started at left guard (12 games), center (three) and right tackle (one) in 2020, making him the first lineman in Green Bay history to start all three positions since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

• Jenkins also contributed to the offensive line that allowed one sack or zero sacks in a league-best 13 games in 2020, tied for the most in a season in team history (2004).

That, as much as his nearly five years experience, has made him a credible leader.

“Before you can be that guy, you have to play like that guy,” Myers said. “Because you have to practice what you preach. So there are a ton of things that go with it. You have to earn that first.

“Which, of course, Elgton has.”

Does it really matter? Leadership? Teammates say Jenkins has a sense of timing and an ability to read the room. His teammates say Jenkins has found the right moments, whether on the sidelines in games or in practice, to point out problems or explain inconsistencies.

“He’s taken on that role, he’s been a lot more vocal this year,” Love said. “That’s the job of a leader – to find the right time to say something.”

Added Myers: “Just consistently, he’s been very outspoken. At the right time. With the right things. It’s just great leadership.”

Throughout the years, the Packers have had this kind of non-QB leadership. Ryan Pickett. Mark Tauscher. Charles Woodson. Guiding the giant amoeba that is a professional football team takes a lot of work, and different kinds of strengths. Not everyone is going to agree on what is the right scheme and strategy, strength and philosophy. But it still has to march forward. Jenkins seems perfect for his part in that shared responsibility that he agreed to take on.

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“As you grow into that role,” Jenkins said, “it gets hard. You want to have everybody’s opinion, but you want people to grow, and so you have to learn to balance in between those two things. Even today − it's not easy. It's just an everyday process everyday, grind working to be the leader that you can.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers guard Elgton Jenkins’ leadership is simple: hear everyone out