Where should Zach Tom start in 2023?

The Green Bay Packers have been known for their development of versatile offensive linemen for about two decades now. The team’s approach of selecting almost exclusively athletic former college tackles and moving them all across the offensive line has yielded some of the best offensive line results in the league since Ted Thompson first took over as general manager back in 2005. The only struggle, though, is trying to figure out which combination of linemen is the best fit for specific positions in a given year.

Enter Zach Tom, the second-year offensive lineman from Wake Forest who started five games last season as a fourth-round rookie. My assumption, coming into the offseason, was that Tom was going to be the sixth offensive lineman on the team, filling in for injured starters this year. The Packers return their entire preferred starting offensive line of David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan Jr. and Yosh Nijman, so it was tough for me to imagine Tom unseating an incumbent starter.

Based on reports from the Packers’ first two media-open OTA practices, though, Tom has been receiving some first-team looks ahead of Nijman, who signed a one-year, $4.3 million contract from Green Bay this offseason. It’s worth noting here that both Nijman and Runyan, the starters on the right side of the line, are in contract years. Those are the two spots where Tom has been seen practicing this offseason, though, the coaching staff has mentioned that Tom will get some looks at center, too, at some point this summer.

Is Tom one of the Packers’ best five on the line? If so, where should he be playing and who should he displace? Personally, I think center is the weakest position on the offensive line right now and would be letting him battle it out with Myers before thinking about moving Runyan or Nijman to the bench, but I do realize that Green Bay might be looking at the future and their 2024 cap situation with this decision, as well.

What do you say? Vote in the poll below, so we can get a gauge of how the fan base sees the situation, and scroll down to the comments to chime in with your thoughts.