Despite Questions, Packers’ Offensive Line Ranks Among NFL’s Best

Speaking before Tuesday's practice, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he anticipates David Bakhtiari practicing when training camp begins on July 27.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In theory, the Green Bay Packers’ offensive line will be a juggernaut.

Five starters will return, including two of the best blockers in the NFL. David Bakhtiari is a five-time All-Pro left tackle. Elgton Jenkins was a 2020 Pro Bowler at left guard and is one of the league’s most talented and most versatile blockers. Center Josh Myers was a second-round pick last year. Along with two other returning starters, left guard John Runyan and right guard Royce Newman, Green Bay has a lot of experience at a critically important position group.

Of course, that strength is written in pencil, not ink. Bakhtiari suffered a torn ACL on New Year’s Eve in 2020, barely played last season and has been kept on the side for the offseason practices. Jenkins suffered a torn ACL on Nov. 21. He might not be ready for Week 1, and Bakhtiari’s comeback provides a cautionary tale. Because of a knee injury that required surgery, Myers played barely one-fourth of the offensive snaps as a rookie and is a bit of an unknown.

So, how do the Packers feel about their line with the start of training camp about six weeks away?

“That’s a great question,” coach Matt LaFleur said before Tuesday’s OTA practice. “I think time will tell. I think it’s always a little bit more challenging, really, when you’re talking up front – offensive line, defensive line – this time of the season without pads on.”

LaFleur said he anticipates Bakhtiari being on the field for the first practice of training camp, set for July 27.

“But we did last year, as well,” LaFleur cautioned. “But we feel good about the work that he’s put in and where he’s at.”

For the third consecutive year, general manager Brian Gutekunst used three draft picks on the offensive line. Third-round pick Sean Rhyan of UCLA fits the mold of being a physical blocker. Fourth-round pick Zach Tom of Wake Forest fits the mold with his versatility. Seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker was a three-year starting left tackle at Penn State.

“We’re excited,” LaFleur said. “I think we’ve got some pieces to work with. It’s going to be how these guys attack the summer and the kind of shape they come in for training camp and how we grow together throughout the course of training camp.”

In offensive line rankings at Pro Football Focus, the Packers’ unit ranks fifth. However, it’s a group with those lingering, perhaps troublesome, concerns.

“Health and development are both going to be massive for this Packers offensive line,” PFF’s Mike Renner wrote. “David Bakhtiari played all of 27 snaps in Week 18 last year and missed the team's playoff loss while recovering from his 2020 ACL tear. Elgton Jenkins is still working his way back through an ACL tear himself that he suffered in Week 11 against the Vikings. At full strength, you won’t find a better pass-protecting duo in the league, but will this unit get there?”