If the NFL preseason has indicated anything, it is that the Green Bay Packers will have one of, if not the, best offensive lines in the league. This unit will be anchored in 2023 by five-time Pro Bowl left tackle David Bakhitari, who is finally fully healthy after tearing his ACL in December 2020. The injury kept him out for essentially the whole 2021 season and limited him to 11 games in 2022.
Now that he is fully healthy, he and Elgton Jenkins will combine to be perhaps the past left-side duo in the NFL. However, Bakhtiari has a $40 million cap hit in 2024, a price the Packers certainly will not pay. The options will be to extend him or cut him. At that point, he will be entering his age 33 season and given the Packers history, he will not be brought back.
The question, then, is who will replace him? While the offensive line class in the 2024 NFL Draft is considerably good, the Packers can opt to use a veteran from their own roster as their new left tackle.
Rasheed Walker Could Be the Green Bay Packers’ Replacement for David Bakhtiari (NFL)
The Packers are known for finding quality offensive linemen late in the draft. It appears that it has happened again with 2022 seventh round pick Rasheed Walker. With Bakhtiari not playing in preseason games, it was Walker who started at left tackle.
Walker held his own, finishing the preseason with the Packers’ sixth-highest overall PFF grade on offense with a 77.6. He was also the team’s highest grade offensive lineman outside of Jon Runyan, though Walker played more snaps than any other offensive lineman.
Moving on from Bakhtiari in favor of Walker makes sense in the fact that it would save the Packers tens of millions of dollars and make them significantly younger.
Of course, Walker is not the only other candidate for future starting left tackle on the roster. Yosh Nijman, of course, is back on a one-year deal and could be signed long-term. However, he has proven that he is of greatest value to the team as a swing tackle.
In addition to Nijman, Zach Tom is Elgton Jenkins 2.0 in that he can play just about anywhere on the line at a high level. Speaking of Jenkins, he is under contract for quite a while, and the Packers could move him to left tackle to get the best value out of his contract.
What it will come down to, though, it putting the best five players on the offensive line as the starters. Josh Myers is a below average center, so Jon Runyan or Zach Tom could fill that role. If Runyan, Tom may slide in as the right guard. In any case, Walker will remain a candidate for the starting left tackle spot in 2024, and if his 2023 preseason is any indication, he just might win that job.
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