Packers: David Bakhtiari Moving Around Very Well at OTAs

There is no one reason that the Green Bay Packers lost the NFC Championship Game to Tampa Bay. Sure, the Kevin King play is the lasting image that many have in their heads, but there were also turnovers, missed opportunities in the red zone, and the inability to capitalize off turnovers forced by the Packer defense.

On top of all of that, Green Bay was also without their All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari, who had suffered an ACL injury earlier that month in practice—and that certainly didn’t help things either.

While the offensive line held up very well all year despite battling numerous injuries, against a stout Bucs’ defensive front, with Billy Turner at left tackle and Rick Wagner at right tackle, the two gave up a total of four sacks, according to PFF ($$). As a unit, the Packers also allowed 14 pressures. Again, this isn’t the sole reason they lost, but it was a major contributor.

As we look ahead to the 2021 season, we don’t know when Bakhtiari will be back on the field. Everyone’s recovery time from an ACL injury is a bit different, and the Green Bay medical staff is also historically conservative. But if you’re holding out hope that Bakhtiari is going to be ready by Week 1, the video clips from today’s OTA practice are very promising.

Bakhtiari was not on the field during media availability last week, but on Wednesday, he was off to the side, working on various drills. And as I said, he was moving very well.

Andy Herman of Packer Report, who was in attendance, would go on to say that Bakhtiari “looks phenomenal moving around” and that “you’d have no idea he tore his ACL last year.”

Now, does this mean we should be overreacting to a few video clips where Bakhtiari is working out on his own? No, probably not. And this doesn’t mean that he will be ready to go Week 1 either. However, this is also a very good sign, and I will say that the odds of him taking the field against New Orleans are higher than what I originally expected them to be.

If Bakhtiari doesn’t play Week 1, the Green Bay Packers will have to do some shuffling along the offensive line. Last week at practice, we saw Elgton Jenkins taking snaps at left tackle, and that is who I would guess will fill in for Bakhtiari if needed. From there, I’ll venture to say that the guards are Jon Runyan and Lucas Patrick, Josh Myers is the center, and Billy Turner is the right tackle.

With all of that said, it’s only June 2nd, and we shouldn’t let a few clips from OTAs give us the impression that Bakhtiari will start right away this season. But again, this certainly isn’t bad news either.