NOTE: This is not a list of the team's 25 best players, but rather it's a list of which players mean the most to how Green Bay will fare this year. Criteria such as depth at that player's position, general expectations and overall importance of that player having a good season are all highly considered.
NO. 17 - BRYAN BULAGA, RIGHT TACKLE
AGE/EXPERIENCE
25/Fifth NFL season
WHY HE'S NO. 17
Last offseason, Bryan Bulaga was one of the key pieces involved in head coach Mike McCarthy's decision to swap the left and right sides of the Green Bay Packers offensive line. McCarthy believed Bulaga to be the team's best tackle and Josh Sitton to be the team's best guard, prompting the unusual decision to make the big switch.
Bulaga didn't get very far in his quest to protect the blind side of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as he tore the ACL in his left knee during the 2013 Family Night Scrimmage. That ended Bulaga's season and thrust rookie David Bakhtiari into the very important left tackle role.
Now recovered from injury, Bulaga is no longer the Packers' left tackle of the future or present. Bakhtiari did well enough for McCarthy to keep him at that spot going into his second NFL season. However, that doesn't completely minimize Bulaga's importance to Green Bay's success. Bulaga will be the Packers' starting right tackle, and if he performs at the level he's capable of, the Packers will be a much better offensive unit for it.
Bulaga is No. 17 on this list because he was a 2010 first-round pick who needs to show that he still has first-round talent after back-to-back seasons were lost due to injuries. Because Bulaga was drafted just one month after his 21st birthday, he's still a very young player. The 2014 season needs to be the year that his career returns to the promise that it showed back in 2011 when Bulaga was a very good right tackle.
EXPECTATIONS FOR 2014
It's important for the Packers to get a good season from Bulaga, but it's also important for Bulaga to get a good season out of himself. He's set to be an unrestricted free agent next offseason, and Bulaga is fortunate that he has one year to prove himself. Had he been an unrestricted free agent this offseason, it's unlikely that any team would have been willing to guarantee Bulaga much money after missing the past 23 regular-season games.
From Green Bay's perspective, it needs Bulaga to have a healthy, productive season. He's being counted on to deliver consistent performances at a high level. Unless his hip and knee injuries prove to be too much to overcome, it's fair to expect Bulaga to at least come close to returning to his 2011 form when he was the NFL's fourth-best right tackle (according to ProFootballFocus).
WHAT WOULD THEY DO WITHOUT HIM?
Bulaga's return displaced Don Barclay, who had started 21 games at right tackle over the past two seasons. While Barclay certainly outperformed his status as an undrafted player, the upgrade to Bulaga is a significant one for the Packers. However, that experience for Barclay would be invaluable if Bulaga suffers another injury. Rather than plugging in an undrafted rookie like Green Bay did two years ago with Barclay, it'd be plugging in a third-year player who's already spent a lot of time at the position.
Don't forget about Derek Sherrod, either. The Packers' 2011 first-round pick spent his rookie season as a backup before suffering a broken leg and then spent his next two seasons recovering physically. Sherrod, though, is unlikely to enter the equation at right tackle. McCarthy noted recently that Sherrod looks more natural and feels more comfortable on the left side.
That's about it in terms of depth at offensive tackle. Green Bay does have Aaron Adams, John Fullington and Jeremy Vujnovich, but none of them are expected to make the active roster.
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