1) Introduction: David Bakhtiari was considered an “add depth” pick taken in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He was my 17th rated tackle (right after the Bears’ Jordan Mills) mainly because I felt he should have stayed in school one more year and put on some upper body strength. With Derek Sherrod’s return a question mark, Bakhtiari would be looked to serve as back up to starters Bryan Bulaga and Don Barclay.
2) Profile:
David Bakhtiari
- Age: 22
- Born: 9/30/1991 in San Mateo, CA.
- Height: 6’4″
- Weight: 300
- College: Colorado
- Rookie Year: 2013
- NFL Experience: 1 year
3) Expectations coming into the season: Be the game day backup for both tackle positions while hitting the weight room hard.
4) Player’s highlights/low-lights: His highlight had to be in preseason when Aaron Rodgers was asked about the rookie protecting his blind side. Rodgers responded that he hadn’t even give that a thought, meaning Bakhtiari was doing just fine. His lowlight was during the Thanksgiving day massacre, where he was victimized for three of the six sacks the Packers gave up that day.
5) Player’s contribution to the overall team success: After way too many sacks in 2012, the Packers had taken steps to protect Rodgers’ blind side by moving Bulaga and Sitton to the left side. That plan went up in smoke when Bulaga went down for the season. The Packers could have moved Marshall Newhouse or Don Barclay from where they were battling for the right tackle spot. Instead, they didn’t hesitate to slot Bakhtiari in at the all-important left tackle spot. Bakhtiari was adequate as a run blocker, and downright solid as a pass protector with two exceptions – the Lions and 49ers. Bakhtiari gave up 10 sacks in 2013, including playoffs.. Eight of them came against two of the best defensive lines in the league – the Lions and the 49ers. Over the other 13 games, Bakhtiari gave up only 2 sacks. While Bakhtiari had his rookie moments, that was pretty darn good for a rookie fourth round draft choice.
6) Player’s contributions in the playoffs: Bakhtiari gave up two sacks and was uncharacteristically called for two penalties against the 49ers.
Season Report Card:
(B+) Level of expectations met during the season
(B) Contributions to team’s overall success.
(C-) Contributions to team during the playoffs
Overall Grade: B-
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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He has begun to climb the ladder while some still search for a step stool.
Never seemed overwhelmed by the moment. Has a feisty, competitive streak. Gives the Packers a number of options, either as the LT of the future or as a good swing tackle backup if Sherrod and Bulaga prove to be the starters. very solid year and great pick. GoPack!
Definitely.
How ever many butterflies he had inside (and I’ll bet he had a forest-full) he always seemed in control and never appeared overawed.
Well done David.
i call b.s he deserved an a . how many rookies do you know of that steps up this huge on the blindside
Grades are based on how they did, not how they did based on where they were drafted. I think the grade is pretty fair. I agree with you though, Mike, that for a rookie, he stepped up huge. GoPack!
How do you grade someone on ‘Level of expectations met’ without taking into account what those expectations were (= where they were drafted)?
If this kid didn’t earn an A for **expectations met** no one ever can. That’s what is BS.
On a different note: the Packers waived Greg van Roten today…thus thinning the OL picture a little bit.
His name is Khal Drogo.
You misspelled his name.
Testament to Bakhtiari’s success for Packers this season–Eddie Lacy, James Starks and Jonathan Franklin’s longest running plays were over Bakhtiari and Sitton’s leftside of the line. Run yardage nor pass protection was as good on the right side of line where Barclay and Lang were.