A Healthy David Bakhtiari Provides Flexibility to Packers OL

All eyes will be on David Bakhtiari once training camp begins. As we all know, he would tear his ACL at the end of the 2020 season, appear in the first half of the Green Bay Packers Week 18 matchup with Detroit in 2021, and he then spent the offseason programs this summer with the rehab group.

The hope is that Bakhtiari will be a full-go once training camp begins next week, but as Matt LaFleur told reporters last month, only time will tell:

"“Time will tell,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said via ESPN. “We fully anticipate him being ready to go, but we did last year, as well. So I think time will tell. But we feel good about the work that he’s put in and where he’s at.”"

David Bakhtiari’s return will provide the Green Bay Packers offensive line with added flexibility.

Getting the former All-Pro back will not only boost the offensive line play because of how good he has been at left tackle over the years, which most recently included a 2020 season where he allowed just one sack and nine pressures, according to PFF ($$), but his return will also provide the offensive line with much more flexibility.

With Bakhtiari holding down the left tackle position, once healthy, the Packers then have the option to move Elgton Jenkins to guard, as long as Yosh Nijman proves capable at right tackle. This would leave Royce Newman, Jon Runyan, Zach Tom, and Sean Rhyan battling for the final starting guard position, assuming Josh Myers remains the center, and would greatly strengthen the interior offensive line.

Things, of course, may not play out this way, and I’d guess that the odds are that Jenkins ends up as the right tackle as long as everyone is healthy, but the point is that if Bakhtiari is available, the Green Bay Packers have the added flexibility to move players around and find the best five offensive linemen, as LaFleur often likes to say.

However, on the flip side, if Bakhtiari is still recovering, the Packers may end up playing Nijman at left tackle while potentially Cole Van Lanen starting at right tackle until Jenkins is able to return. Van Lanen took snaps with the first team offense at right tackle during OTAs and minicamp, while other players who could compete for that role include Rhyan, maybe Newman, who has tackle experience in college, or perhaps even seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker.

Obviously in this scenario, there would be quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the offensive line unit.

Then when Jenkins returns, he would take over at one of the tackle positions opposite of Nijman, but again, in this example, the flexibility to move players around in search of the best five really isn’t there.

As many wonder how this Green Bay Packers team is going to overcome losing Davante Adams this season, a lot of it starts up front with the play of the offensive line.

With all of the injuries that this group dealt with in 2021 — as expected — they weren’t nearly as dominant as they had been in 2020. The run game wasn’t as effective, so in part, play-action wasn’t either. Aaron Rodgers was pressured more often, tight ends were asked to block more, and there was a dropoff in downfield passing attempts.

For this Green Bay Packers team to be a Super Bowl contender, getting Bakhtiari back is a must. For one, his level of play at left tackle has been nearly unmatched over the years, but it will also provide the Packers with more flexibility, which then should improve the rest of the unit as well.