On Sunday night, David Bakhtiari will play in his first ‘bowl’ game ever. Sure, it’s the Pro Bowl, and it doesn’t mean much to the common fan yet for some players, it’s very significant. Bakhtiari is no different. The fact he got in due to a Jason Peters injury is ridiculous as he rated out by Pro Football Focus’ measures of being the best pass-blocking lineman in the National Football League. Pretty good for a guy who had many critics as he began his journey.

Many people were convinced that Bakhtiari could not play left tackle in the NFL. The reason being he did not have the quickness, agility or arm length to be a tackle on the blindside of the best quarterback in football. Look at his NFL Combine notes, they found weaknesses in ‘getting beaten off the edge’ and ‘being put on an island.’ These are hilarious to read now especially after Bakhtiari wins a prestigious award from Pro Football Focus. The other good nugget from the Combine notes is they expected him to move inside, and that never happened once with the Packers.

Bakhtiari established himself as an elite left tackle. Every time wants to have a player like that. Given his combine notes, and the mention of being a ‘gym rat’ (Thought that comment for white receivers only), it’s clear he worked his ass off in the gym to get to that new level of greatness. He’s a beast and one of the lead protectors for Aaron Rodgers. Packers are in good hands.