Can Packers' Derek Sherrod Efficiently Replace Bryan Bulaga?

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Derek Sherrod is no stranger to the injury bug. After missing only three games in his college career at Mississippi State, he was bitten during his first season in the NFL. Going into the Kansas City game, Sherrod had only played in four of the 13 games of the 2011 season. In the fourth quarter he broke his leg, ending his first year in the NFL.

Louis Sherrod, Derek's father, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “The original break was a severe break. He broke both bones. His leg was just hanging.”

His tibia and fibula were broken, and he needed emergency surgery on his leg before even flying back to Green Bay. When his leg did heal, it created issues for his ankle.

Louis Sherrod also explained, “The two bones that were fused together affected his ankle.” This stalled Sherrod's return to the field until 2013, two years after the injury. In the 38 games between 2014 and when he first sustained the injury, the former Bulldog played a total of six snaps with the squad.

That was until Thursday night's season-opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Don Barclay, the projected sixth offensive lineman and swing tackle for 2014, was injured in camp and put on the injured reserve list. Already low on roster-worthy tackle bodies, Sherrod was locked into the swing tackle role for the coming season. When the Packers announced their 53-man roster, he was the only non-starting tackle to make the team.

When right tackle and former first-round pick Bryan Bulaga went down with a knee injury, later revealed to be an MCL sprain, Sherrod was called for the upgrade to the first-team offense.

With Bulaga out for the next few weeks, the Packers will be starting their seventh offensive tackle since 2010. Bulaga wasn't projected as a future right tackle until he tore his ACL during the 2013 Packers Family Night, from which point on David Bakhtiari took over as the starting left tackle for the squad. The move pushed Bulaga out to the right bookend when he returned.

Sherrod joins names like Mark Tauscher, Chad Clifton, Bryan Bulaga, Don Barclay, Marshall Newhouse and Davis Bakhtiari as tackles who have suited up in green and gold since the start of the XLV Super Bowl run.

Sherrod was actually drafted with the hopes to replace Mark Tauscher, who last played during the title season.

From Sherrod's selection on, 11 different Packers have started on the offensive line. 2014 even kicked off with a new starting center, Corey Linsley, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Ohio State. J.C. Tretter, who missed his rookie season of 2013 due to an injury, was slated to take over for Evan Dietrich-Smith as the starting center but is currently on the Injured Reserve list with a designation to return.

The Packers aren't strangers to the injury bug, either.

Facing a tough combination of pass-rushers in the Seattle defense, Sherrod's first game with significant playing time since his injury went poorly. Pro Football Focus graded the tackle with a -6.4 overall mark when reviewing his perfomance:

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Exposed in pass protection by both Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett the pressure he surrendered came with alarming speed at crucial moments in the game.

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Drafted based on his raw, rare talent, Sherrod still has the potential of the “dancing bear” he was projected to be at the next level. Taking his experience into account, 2014 is like a rookie year with some twists. The twists aren't things that sway in his favor, though. An expiring contract and a history riddled by injury are the two things Sherrod has under his belt that the members of the 2014 draft class don't.

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn got mixed reviews about Derek Sherrod at the time of the selection. Some quotes from the scouts were positive.

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He's an above-average athlete. Little bit of hip tightness. But he's smart and tough. It surprised me because I'm always (worried) about Mississippi kids.

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And some were negative:

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I'm a naysayer in our room on Sherrod. He's going in the second. I don't think he's the toughest guy in the world, but he's real smart. He's a great kid. He's OK. He'll never be an elite tackle in the league.

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NFL.com also had some opinions about him that seem interesting retroactively looking back:

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Sherrod currently looks more like a backup but could be a future starting tackle if he can add quite a bit of bulk and strength. A nice blend of length and good feet, he can slide laterally with pass rushers and push them by the launch point but struggles to anchor against the bull rush. Could benefit from improving awareness against pressure looks. Uses positioning and instincts as a run blocker to create running lanes but isn't an effective drive blocker and won't push defenders backwards. Has a solid makeup but doesn't possess a non-stop motor or great aggressiveness. Early Day 3 grade.

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It's hard to say Sherrod has looked like a first-rounder, since the greatest measurement of offensive linemen is consistency. He did, though, show some traits he clearly needs to improve on if he's going to be a sufficient replacement starter behind Bulaga.

The Caledonia High School product allowed two sacks in the time he was on the field. The first wasn't his fault, but a blown protection call. With two new-to-start replacement offensive linemen on the field, miscommunication is expected.

Plays such as this, though, aren't expected, and shouldn't be tolerated as enough. With a body the size of Sherrod's, he should be able to get in the way and stay in the way of pass-rushers, no matter their speed, for an adequate enough amount of time for Aaron Rodgers to throw the ball.

He was an above-average athlete coming out of college, posting a 40-yard-dash time only a 10th of a second slower than Tyron Smith, who is considered one of the best athletes the NFL has to offer.

Sherrod needs to get better all-around. His movements aren't reflective of someone who is as athletic as he is on paper. His footwork is sloppy. His balance is off. His punches aren't strong enough or hitting his targets on the mark.

It's hard to judge a lineman who hasn't started a football game since New Year's Day 2011, though.

In the end, no one knows what Derek Sherrod has to offer. With his limited time at the NFL level, it's hard to make any definitive and educated statements on what he will be. He has the potential to hold down a starting job, at least from a raw physique standpoint.

If Sherrod is going to allow two sacks a game consistently, though, don't be surprised if T.J. Lang, who has history at right tackle, is brought in to spell at the position until Bryan Bulaga is healthy.

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When it comes down to the Packers offense, protecting All-World quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the premium emphasis on the offensive line. Sherrod is still on a learning curve, but on a team looking to be in the title hunt, he'll need to learn quickly before the sharks smell blood in the water.

His performance at CenturyLink Field included deep cuts. If he can't patch up the wounds before Rex Ryan gets to him on Sunday, there could be major questions about Sherrod and the Packers moving forward.