With left tackle Chad Clifton gone and with no 2012 draft pick devoted to the tackle position until a compensatory selection in round seven (Andrew Datko), the vacancy won’t be filled via the flipping of a first-rounder whom many believed was picked to play on the left side.
Coach Mike McCarthy said after the draft that Bryan Bulaga will remain the team’s right tackle.
“I don’t see any reason to go down that road,” McCarthy said, via Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I think Bryan is on the verge of being a Pro Bowler at right tackle. He looks great.”
Instead, the left tackle position will be determined via a beauty contest between Marshall Newhouse and Derek Sherrod. “I really like what I see in Marshall,” McCarthy said. “We’re excited about Marshall contributing. He contributed last year. Derek is improving. So you’ll have competition there.”
Newhouse was a fifth-round pick in 2010. Sherrod arrived via the final pick in round one last year, after the Packers won Super Bowl XLV.
With the Packers not overly concerned about the quality of their backup quarterback, it’s now critical that one of those two guys be ready and able to keep Aaron Rodgers from getting injured.