Breaking Down David Bakhtiari - Lessons from The Ralphie Report

The Green Bay Packers used the first of their three fourth-round draft picks this year on offensive lineman David Bakhtiari, who played his college ball for the Colorado Buffaloes. He was projected by some draft analysts to go as high as the second round, so getting a player of his caliber in the fourth seems like a solid value.

Well, who better to break down one of the newest Packers than the people who covered him for the past few years? SBNation's Colorado blog, The Ralphie Report, recently wrote an article examining the lineman's fit in Green Bayand some of his strengths and weaknesses. I will admit that it's pretty encouraging when the first sentence of that article goes as follows:

First and foremost, the Green Bay Packers got themselves a heck of an athlete with the 109th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Awesome. Let's see what they have to say about his progression over the years at Colorado:

He locked up the RT job before the second game of his redshirt freshman season. He showed definite improvement as the season wore on. After the graduation of Nate Solder, Bakhtiari was moved from right to left tackle, and would spend the next two seasons starting there for the Buffs.

That certainly seems to bode well for the young lineman. Though they have struggled mightily in recent years, Colorado is still in a BCS conference, and Bakhtiari certainly saw his share of top competition - including Packers' first-round pick Datone Jones).

What about areas for improvement?

He needs to work on strengthening his base to be able to hold up to the size he'll be facing consistently in the NFL, especially if he's going to be looked at as a guard ... Basically, he needs to adjust to the NFL and get into an NFL strength program.

That's something I can handle out of a fourth-round pick. An athletic lineman who could use a little extra bulk but is versatile enough to play all over the line certainly sounds like a solid way to upgrade the depth along the offensive front for this Packers team. Bakhtiari most likely will not be thrust into a starting role in 2013 (although Don Barclay would warn him that you never know what can happen) but some experience in an NFL program and some teaching from Packers' offensive line coach James Campen could very well develop Bakhtiari into a solid player in a fairly short period of time.

We extend our thanks to The Ralphie Report for their look at Bakhtiari, and don't forget to check out their full article.

Check out all of Acme Packing Company's draft coverage: 2013 NFL Draft Central | Green Bay Selects Datone Jones in First Round | Green Bay Drafts Eddie Lacy in Second Round | Complete List of Packers' Draft Picks| Packers Undrafted Free Agent Tracker

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