Gutekunst Counting on Bakhtiari, Jenkins to Solve Line Issues
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Even after drafting nine offensive linemen the last three years, the Green Bay Packers might have a three-alarm fire on their hands at offensive tackle.
All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari hasn’t practiced and his availability for the start of the season is in question. Same goes for Elgton Jenkins, a Pro Bowl guard in 2020 who capably replaced Bakhtiari at left tackle last season and, in a perfect world, might be slotted for right tackle in 2022.
General manager Brian Gutekunst on Wednesday morning spoke optimistically about both players bringing the fire hose to put out the blaze. “No timelines right now. I think they both have a shot to play early in the season.” But, as it stands, Green Bay is hurtling toward the regular season with the possibility of Yosh Nijman starting at left tackle and either Royce Newman, last year’s starting right guard, or Zach Tom, a rookie fourth-round pick, opening at right tackle.
What could go wrong with a season-opening game at the Minnesota Vikings looming one month and one day from today? With Danielle Hunter and former Packers Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith, the Vikings could have a premier duo of pass rushers. You know Smith, with 26 sacks in 2019 and 2020, will be fired up to face his former team.
Asked about the state of the potential starting offensive line tasked with protecting him on Tuesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers had this to say after pausing a moment: “Yeah, we’d have to really be smart about how we’re playing in that situation. We’ve done it before. We’ve played against San Fran multiple times without our starters off the edge and sometimes done a nice job and sometimes struggled. I think that there’s definitely some spots open. There could be interest in people not in the building right now; I’m not sure, I haven’t talked to Gutey about that. We need to see those guys step up and somebody take it over.”
The challenges will only begin with the Vikings.
In Week 2, the Packers will host the Chicago Bears. Last season, Robert Quinn had 18.5 sacks.
In Week 3, the Packers will play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shaq Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019 and had 10 last season.
In Week 4, the Packers will host the New England Patriots. Matthew Judon had a career-high 12.5 sacks last season.
And on and on it goes if Bakhtiari and Jenkins remain sidelined beyond the first month of the season. In Week 5, it’s the New York Giants and rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux. In Week 6, it’s the New York Jets and Carl Lawson and Jermaine Johnson. In Week 7, it’s Washington’s dynamic duo of Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
With such uncertainty, it’s a position that Gutekunst probably is monitoring with final cuts now 20 days away. It’s worth remembering the Packers are no strangers to the veteran offensive tackle market, having signed Jared Veldheer in 2019, Rick Wagner in 2020 and Dennis Kelly in 2021. All three turned out to be key pickups.
“We’re always looking. We’re always going to kick the tires as we go through the preseason,” Gutekunst said. “As we get down to that 53 cut, there’s obviously a big opportunity there as guys are making their roster.
“But we do have two significant players that haven’t been out there that will be coming back, too, which, as we’ve gone through the past few years, it hasn’t been like that. When we went out and got somebody, we didn’t have guys coming off the shelf of that caliber. If there’s opportunities out there that we think can help us, we’re certainly going to look at that but nothing’s imminent.”
So, Green Bay will press forward with Nijman, who played well in eight starts at left tackle last season, and either Newman or Tom at right tackle.
“I feel good about Yosh. He’s played a lot of football for us,” Rodgers said. “Royce has been working at guard and tackle. He’s a smart dude. I feel like he’s been playing more underneath himself with his feet in a better base. But we need consistency out of those guys. Those guys are going to play, too. They’re all young guys, they’re going to play in the preseason. We need to see them play well and have some really good moments so we feel good going into Minnesota and that pass rush that they’ve got.”
