There aren’t many experienced players that the Green Bay Packers have to rely on offensively. The team is going to be very young on that side of the ball, led by quarterback Jordan Love. He is entering his fourth season in the NFL but has only thrown 83 career passes in the regular season.
His skill position group, outside of the running backs, will be very inexperienced as well. The only wide receiver who has been in the NFL for more than one season is Jeff Cotton, who played with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 but didn’t get on the field in 2022.
At tight end, Josiah Deguara is entering Year 4 and is the elder statesman. 2023 draft picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft will be vying for snaps along with him. Meaning Love could have all of his pass catchers being first and second-year players.
Luckily for the Packers, their offensive line isn’t anywhere as inexperienced. For Love to find success early in his career, having him behind a talented offensive line will help his cause. One of the most important pieces of that offensive line is left tackle David Bakhtiari.
In a recent piece by Mike Clay and Seth Walder of ESPN, they ranked every team’s roster in the NFL. Walder named Bakhtiari the X Factor for the Packers in 2023 as his health will have a major impact on the unit’s performance.
“He played in just 55% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps last year, but when on the field, he’s still got it. A 95% pass block win rate in line with his career average back to 2017 that would help out quarterback Jordan Love quite a bit.”
When healthy, Bakhtiari is among the best left tackles in the NFL. 2023 is a big season for him as it will determine his future with the franchise. The cap hit that he has next season isn’t something the Packers are going to pay, so it will come down to his performance.
Green Bay can save $21 million by releasing him, but if he proves he can stay healthy and play at a high level once again, an extension makes a lot of sense. If injuries mar his season once again, the Packers can move on given the depth that they have on their roster along the offensive line.