Bakhtiari Powers PFF’s Offensive Line Rankings
GREEN BAY, Wis. – If Aaron Rodgers returns for his 14th season as the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback, they will have an elite group of weapons on offense.
Will the offensive line be good enough to make the whole thing go?
All-Pro center Corey Linsley signed with the Los Angeles Chargers in free agency and might be replaced by second-round pick Josh Myers. In its positional rankings, Linsley is No. 2 among centers while Myers is No. 30.
Given the choice of the top center prospects, general manager Brian Gutekunst took Myers at No. 61 and Kansas City took Creed Humphrey at No. 62. Humphrey is 16th in PFF’s center rankings.
“Much of the NFL draft community had fewer concerns about Myers than PFF,” Ben Linsey wrote. “He was the 154th-ranked player on our big board, in large part because of questions about his ability in pass protection. His size, explosiveness and mentality could lead to some highlight-reel blocks in the run game, but a lack of consistency and those aforementioned pass protection concerns keep him toward the bottom of this list.”
RELATED: HARD WORK, HARD KNOCKS DEFINE MYERS' PATH
All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari is No. 1 among the offensive tackles. He missed the end of last season and the playoffs with a torn ACL, an injury that puts the start of the 2021 season in peril.
“Bakhtiari’s play slightly dipped in 2019, but he made up for it with a career year in 2020,” Anthony Treash wrote. “He posted a 91.8 PFF grade last season, marking the third time in the past four years where he ranked second among offensive tackles in PFF grade. Bakhtiari’s run blocking was far better than anything he previously showed, as he shattered his career-high grade in that facet by 17 grading points (86.7). In the way of pass protection, Bakhtiari remained the best in the NFL.”
Billy Turner, the presumptive starting right tackle, was not ranked.
Officially, the Packers don’t have anyone ranked among the top 32 guards. Elgton Jenkins earned Pro Bowl honors at left guard last season but could line up at any spot on the offensive line to start the upcoming season, so PFF excluded him from its rankings package. With Bakhtiari out of action, Jenkins was at left tackle for the start of OTAs. He’s allowed only one sack in his two seasons but been found guilty of 16 penalties.
Lucas Patrick, the starting right guard last season, was not ranked.
