5 Reasons for Optimism with 2022 Green Bay Packers
By Paul Bretl
A healthy David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins for the Green Bay Packers
The offensive line made an appearance in my biggest concerns article because of the unknown around their health. However, I wanted to put them in the optimistic article as well because, if healthy, this group will be the catalyst behind the Packers’ success on offense.
As I’ve discussed previously, given the injuries that this group sustained, they held their own in 2021, but as expected, they weren’t nearly as good as the 2020 unit.
As a result, the run game wasn’t as effective, and therefore, neither was play-action. Rodgers was pressured more often despite getting the ball out quicker, and this likely also played a factor in there being 16 fewer deep shot attempts than there were in 2020, according to PFF ($$).
The tight ends were asked to help block more, which zapped some of their effectiveness in the passing game, and overall, this offensive line had to be game planned for by LaFleur, where that wasn’t really the case when healthy.
Tackle or edge rusher is arguably the second most important position in football behind quarterback and having a healthy David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins this season will go a long way in solidifying this offensive line, which should lead to improvement in all of the areas just mentioned.
At this time, we do not know when Jenkins will be on the field or even if Bakhtiari will be participating in training camp, but until then, I choose to take the optimistic approach. Improved offensive line play will make a world of difference for this offense–even without Adams.