Bakhtiari Praises Jordan Love, Packers Offense; Jokes Aaron Rodgers 'Is Slow as S--t'

Green Bay Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari is excited to see what the offense is going to look like with Jordan Love at quarterback.

The three-time Pro Bowler told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler joked the Packers can use more run-pass option concepts because Aaron Rodgers "is slow as s--t" and they "actually have an athletic quarterback who can move around."

While Bakhtiari's tongue was firmly planted in his cheek with that comment, it's not totally unwarranted.

Per Next Gen Stats (h/t Steven Ruiz of The Ringer), Rodgers had his fewest rushing yards, yards per carry, rush EPA, and rushing yards over expected in five years during the 2022 season.

"This isn't just an issue on scrambles; declining mobility also affected Rodgers as a passer," Ruiz wrote. "On plays outside the pocket, his success rate dropped nearly 10 percentage points from 2021 to 2022, according to TruMedia."

Love isn't exactly an elite runner. He had 403 rushing yards and averaged 2.4 yards on 170 attempts in three seasons at Utah State.

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein did note in his 2020 scouting report that Love does "make athletic pocket exits when scrambling."

The Packers seem poised to take advantage of Love's athleticism. Fowler noted the offense was showing run-pass option looks "often" in practice this week.

One thing that will make Love's life easier is having Bakhtiari protecting his blind side. The 31-year-old has been limited to 12 games over the past two seasons combined due in large part to a torn ACL he suffered in Week 16 of the 2020 season.

Bakhtiari told Fowler the coaching staff has been giving him a lot of time off by design during training camp to ensure he is ready to go when the regular season begins.

Love is expected to start for Green Bay in Friday's preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.