Countdown to Camp: Offensive Line
The following is the fifth installment in a series of photos that is examining the Packers' roster position by position. This installment examines the offensive line.
The news on the offensive line during OTAs was the flip-flopping of sides for the guards and tackles. The bigger news in training camp could be who will emerge as the starting right tackle.
During the spring, the Packers switched the former right side of their line, tackle Bryan Bulaga and guard Josh Sitton, to the left side.
Newhouse, who started 28 games (including playoffs) over the past two seasons at left tackle, worked the most with the first unit during OTAs and is the presumptive starter at right tackle, for now.
Like T Marshall Newhouse, T.J. Lang, shifts to the right side.
Second-year pro Don Barclay started the final four regular-season games of last season and both playoff contests at right tackle.
Barclay, who has also practiced at guard in the past and took some snaps at center during the spring, could be evolving into a key swing man if he doesn't crack the starting lineup.
Rookie fourth-round draft pick David Bakhtiari will get a shot as well. Like most of the Packers' linemen, he played primarily left tackle in college, and his athletic ability was evident in the spring.
After missing all of last season to a surgically repaired broken leg, Sherrod did not participate in OTAs for the second straight year and there's been no timetable given for his return to the field.
Evan Dietrich-Smith will begin a season as a starter for the first time, at center. He took over for veteran Jeff Saturday with two games left in the regular season last year and has repeatedly received votes of confidence from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
A seventh-round pick last year, Datko spent his entire rookie season as a tackle on the practice squad, played a fair amount of guard in the spring, continuing Green Bay's practice of cross-training its linemen.
Van Roten has played both guard spots and center and could be growing into the same type of versatile inside guy that Dietrich-Smith was the past couple of years.
