GREEN BAY, Wis. — Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith could easily be mistaken for Jeff Saturday, the man whose job he took in Week 16. Both are round-faced, with matching bushy beards and heads topped by thick, brown hair. Each is listed at 6 feet 2 inches, with Dietrich-Smith at 308 pounds and Saturday a shade lighter at 295.

Their résumés have less in common. Saturday, 37, is a 14-year veteran who has been to six Pro Bowls and has a Super Bowl ring from his years with Indianapolis. Dietrich-Smith, 26, has nine career starts. None came at center before Dec. 23.

When asked Thursday the last time he played center with regularity, Dietrich-Smith paused and thought for a moment.

“High school?” he said, asking a question as much as answering one.

The late-season change is more striking both for Dietrich-Smith’s relative inexperience and the fact that Green Bay’s Super Bowl hopes, beginning Saturday night at Lambeau Field against the Minnesota Vikings, hinge in large part on their dangerous passing offense.