The Green Bay Packers had to say goodbye to one of the best left tackles in franchise history earlier this offseason. David Bakhtiari, 32, has not managed to turn in a full season since 2019, and has only played more than 1 game in a season once in the last 3 years. Despite this, Bakhtiari has still been a franchise cornerstone and a pillar in the Packers locker room for almost as long as he was with the team. His absence from the franchise will be felt this upcoming season, however Green Bay is already familiar with life without Bakhtiari.
David Bakhtiari Was a Staple of the Green Bay Packers Organization
Bakhtiari was not only a good left tackle during his time with the Packers, he was arguably one of the best in the entire league. Since coming into the league in 2013, Bakhtiari has been named to 5 All Pro teams as well as 3 Pro Bowls. He’s been one of the most efficient and effective pass blockers in the league during that time. His run blocking was always the weakness in his game, but every player struggles in some aspect of their game and Bakhtiari was always solid to above average regardless.
The Players That Must Step Up With Bakhtiari Out of the Picture
Now that Green Bay will be without Bakhtiari going forward, The Packers will be counting on a handful of other players to makeup for the loss of their longtime starting left tackle. One of these players is the current left tackle of the team Rasheed Walker. Walker, a 7th round draft pick in 2022, saw the lions share of snaps last season for Green Bay with Bakhtiari out. He ended up finishing the season with a 66.4 PFF grade, while playing 851 total snaps, which was 39th in the league.
Walker also allowed 6 sacks while committing 9 penalties. These numbers may not jump off the page as far as how the elite left tackles in the league perform, however for a 7th round pick starting in the NFL for the very first time, Walker was more than good enough for the Packers to feel confident about his stance with the team moving forward.
Another player that the Packers will look to lean on this season will be newly acquired running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs is a premiere back in the NFL and the team will be counting on him to continue producing at a high level to help mask the holes of the offensive line. In a perfect world, the Packers would be able to supply Jacobs with an elite line to run behind, however due to the NFL’s salary cap rules, it’s impossible to be perfect at every position. This is where Jacobs can make up the difference and shoulder some of the workload to take pressure off of some of the younger players on the offense.
The final player that must step up in order for the Packers offense to continue producing at a high level is non other than starting quarterback Jordan Love. Love is coming off of a stellar first season starting, and he’s already used to life without David Bakhtiari considering he played almost the entire season without him. However, there are going to be significantly higher expectations for Love and the Packers offense this upcoming season, as last year was largely considered a rebuild year by many. This season will be much different, expectations will be higher than ever and Love must continue to grow if the Packers are going to meet said expectations.
Life will not be easy without Bakhtiari, however the Packers have managed to surround Jordan Love with all the tools he needs to continue growing into the star quarterback they believe he can be. If the offense can rally around Love and step up in key situations, then Green Bay will be in fantastic shape to transition seamlessly out of the David Bakhtiari era.
