Pro Football Focus rank Packers offensive line in top 10 for 2018
When healthy, the Green Bay Packers offensive line is one of the league’s best.
Pro Football Focus has ranked each NFL starting offensive line. The Green Bay Packers are at No. 9 on the list.
And few could argue that. When fully healthy, the Packers’ offensive line can be dominant, particularly in pass protection.
Here’s what Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus wrote about Green Bay’s offensive line:
"“What the Packers have – when healthy – that few in the NFL can boast are a pair of bookend tackles that you feel comfortable putting on an island snap after snap. No chips or slides necessary, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga are as good as it gets in pass protection.”"
The biggest key here is Bryan Bulaga, who is recovering from a torn ACL and could miss the start of the 2018 season. If Bulaga does indeed sit out early on, who will replace him? Do the Packers have adequate depth along the offensive line?
Green Bay’s biggest strength used to be at the interior spots with guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang. Both Sitton and Lang have since spent time with division rivals; Lang is currently a member of the Detroit Lions.
Without two of the league’s top guards on the team any more, the Packers’ biggest strength is at the tackle spots.
You could make a strong case that no tackle in football is as good in pass protection as Bakhtiari, who has been named an All-Pro for the past two seasons.
Bulaga, too, is one of the best in the league when healthy.
Elsewhere on the line, left guard Lane Taylor and center Corey Linsley have both played well in recent seasons. Taylor was Sitton’s replacement.
Jahri Evans helped fill the void left by Lang last year, but hasn’t been re-signed this offseason. Justin McCray is the frontrunner to win the starting job at right guard.
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The Packers have some questions along the offensive line this year, particularly at right tackle, but when fully healthy it’s still one of the best in football.