Packers expected to choose David Bakhtiari’s replacement with a first-round pick.
The writing has been on the wall for months, and all signs point to the Green Bay Packers releasing five-time All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari this offseason.
If Green Bay trades, or more likely cuts, Bakhtiari this offseason, the team will have to make a decision: shift full-time to 2022 seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker at a premium position or improve the left side of its offensive line through the NFL draft.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. is a supporter of the latter. He predicted in his first official mock draft, published on Tuesday, January 23, that the Packers will select Kingsley Suamataia of BYU with the 25th overall choice in the first round.
As previously stated, this is a great tackle class, and Green Bay should seize the opportunity to acquire its future blindside protector. David Bakhtiari has only played 25 games in the last four seasons due to knee injuries, including one in 2023. The Packers can’t rely on him returning.
The 6-foot-6 Suamataia has started 23 games for the Cougars in the last two seasons, 12 at right tackle and 11 at left tackle. I admire the promise he demonstrated last season, when he allowed three sacks and only eight total pressures. He is a towering figure who can move to the second level and challenge linebackers in the run game.
Kingsley Suamataia might replace Rasheed Walker on the Packers’ offensive line.
If the team decides to replace Bakhtiari, Suamataia will have the opportunity to play immediately at Green Bay.
Walker was adequate on the NFL’s youngest offense, as quarterback Jordan Love excelled in the second half of the season and appears primed to join the league’s best sooner rather than later. Given that trajectory, Walker’s hold on the offensive line’s most important position has become increasingly shaky.
According to Pro Football Focus, Walker surrendered 6 sacks on 851 snaps and committed 9 penalties. PFF evaluated Walker as the 44th best tackle in the NFL in 2023, out of 83 players who saw enough snaps to qualify.
Walker’s accomplishment should earn him a spot in the Packers’ rotation, if not a starter elsewhere. Fans could anticipate Green Bay to strengthen at the position if Bakhtiari does not return to the team in 2024.
In Kiper’s scenario, Suamataia will be the sixth offensive lineman selected in the first 25 picks of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Packers can save $21 million by cutting and trading David Bakhtiari this offseason.
Bakhtiari has been terrific for the Packers during his career, but the amount of money Green Bay can save is simply too large to justify keeping him.
That might have been true if Bakhtiari had been healthy during the last few seasons, but he hasn’t been. The left tackle appeared in just one game in 2023, following a single regular-season game two years prior. He played in eleven games in 2022.
Bakhtiari is in the final season of his four-year, $92 million contract, with a salary cap hit of over $40 million in 2024. Green Bay can save $21 million in cap space by releasing or dealing Bakhtiari at any time this offseason.
