For a first-round NFL Draft pick, respect is instant – even premature. For a fourth-round pick, respect comes begrudgingly.
For Zach Tom, respect has been earned. Last year, he finished third in All-Pro voting among right tackles behind only Detroit’s Penei Sewell and Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson. A massive payday – the ultimate sign of respect – is on the horizon.
For Tom, he started at the bottom on his way to the top.
“To be honest, as a rookie, when you’re coming in, you’re not thinking that long term,” Tom, who was the 140th overall pick and the fourth-to-last pick of the fourth round in 2022, said at Packers OTAs on Tuesday. “When I was first a rookie, you got to learn the playbook, you got to do all -- you got to wait. You got way more stuff to worry about, so I guess I wasn’t necessarily thinking that far ahead.”
Tom showed his potential as a versatile backup as a rookie. As the starting right tackle the last two seasons, Tom has ascended to a top-tier player at a premium position. Along the way, he’s adjusted his expectations and goals.
“Once I played a little bit of football and you gain confidence in yourself, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I can really do this,” Tom continued. “Yeah, absolutely, once you get in the game and start playing, you really start setting goals further on, but when I first came in, nah, I wouldn’t say that that was necessarily like my main goal. I mean, obviously, everybody wants to be elite at what they do, but it’s not like I was thinking that far ahead.”
For what it’s worth, Tom was the highest-graded right tackle in the NFL last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The All-Pro vote, the analytics and the forthcoming contract all say Tom is an elite player.
Because money talks, the paycheck is all that remains.
“I think it’s a credit to everybody that has helped me out through my career – parents, my coaches, myself, everybody who’s been a part of my career,” he said. “But, hey, I’m just trying to do what I do, do it consistently and whatever recognition comes from that, I’ll take it.”
At this time last year, Tom was rehabbing his way back from a torn pectoral. He missed the offseason practices and the start of training camp but started all 17 games for a second consecutive year.
According to PFF, Tom went from two sacks and 33 pressures allowed in 2023 to three sacks and 24 pressures allowed in 2024. Sports Info Solutions charged Tom with four sacks allowed for a second consecutive season, but his blown-block rate on runs decreased from 10 to three.
“I’d be lying if I said it was 100 percent, but it was as good as it could have been,” Tom said of the injury. “But that’s the nature of the injury. I think the biggest thing is just confidence with an injury like that. And I think that’s the thing I’ve been working on this year, even in the weight room, just pushing weight with it. And I think this year I should be back to 100 percent, for sure.”
How did he do it? If he wasn’t 100 percent but had to block premier pass rushers week after week, how did he play at such a high level?
“Like I said, it’s a credit to the training staff,” he said. “They were able to get me back healthy within like four months from the injury, and I was able to practice during camp for a couple weeks. So, it’s not like I just went out there Week 1 and was just playing. I had a little acclimation period during camp. And that’s again, credit to the training staff, strength staff, everybody. And credit to me, not to toot my own horn but, sh(oot) …”
Tom deserves to toot his own horn. None of his success has happened by accident.
“Honestly,” he continued, “once I came back, I mean, it wasn’t perfect, but you’re just playing football – you’re trying to, at least. I try not to think about injuries because everybody’s going through something.”
Pro Bowl guard-turned-center Elgton Jenkins has skipped the voluntary practices. Tom could have done the same as a way to increase the pressure on the Packers to get a contract extension done before training camp or the regular season.
His focus isn’t on the contract, though. He’ll leave that up to his agent, Michael Hoffman, to hammer out the details of a deal that almost certainly have Tom join the $20 million-per-season club manned only by Sewell, Johnson and the Chiefs’ Jawaan Taylor.
Rather, his focus is on football, solidifying his standing as one of the best linemen in the business and helping the team take the next step after back-to-back playoff berths.
“I don’t really think it’ll do me any good to sit out. I’m trying not to worry about the contract situation. I’m just trying to do what’s best for the team. And being here with the guys, I think that’s worth a lot more than,” Tom said before changing gears.
“The contract situation will take care of itself. So, I’m just here working and grinding with the guys. If I wasn’t here, I’d probably be somewhere just not doing anything. I don’t know. So, yeah, I want to be here, obviously.”
