Zach Tom set for biggest audition of his young NFL career

With David Bakhtiari unlikely to play Monday as he continues his recovery from an emergency appendectomy, rookie Zach Tom has a chance to showcase his skills for the Packers.

With one exception, the Green Bay Packers appear set to field their entire preferred starting offense when they face off against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. That development would mark significant progress for a team that has cycled through roughly a half dozen O-line configurations and seen every wideout on the 53-man roster save for rookie Samori Toure miss time to injury. For the Packers to have any chance of running the table and sneaking into the playoffs, they'll need the offense to feature its full complement of weapons.

Of course, that lone exception to the otherwise complete offense casts a large shadow over the rest of the unit. David Bakhtiari, the Packers' All-Pro left tackle who has continued to play at that level when healthy this season, looks likely to miss another game as he recovers from an emergency appendectomy performed two weeks ago.

"This is the first time I've been around a player that has had one of these, at least in the season," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said Thursday of Bakhtiari's procedure. "We'll see how he progresses throughout the course of the week.

"It's probably a long shot, but we'll see."

Assuming Bakhtiari misses his second straight game, the Packers will again turn to a rookie to fill his considerable shoes. Zach Tom, one of the team's fourth-round selections from the 2022 NFL Draft, would start his fourth game of the season and third on the blindside.

Few would have predicted this scenario back in the spring when Tom first arrived in Green Bay. Rookies, even those taken at the top of the draft, typically struggle for a year or more as they adjust to the superior defensive talent and heightened physical demands tasks of the NFL. Though exceptions exist, Tom entered the league as an undersized blocker -- he measured in a hair over 6-foot-4 and 304 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine -- who never settled at one position during his collegiate career at Wake Forest. Little about that pedigree suggested Tom would accomplish much in 2022.

Early on, the Packers seemed to agree. During rookie minicamp and training camp, Tom worked at virtually every spot along the line without a clear plan for where he might see meaningful action. By comparison, fellow rookie Sean Rhyan worked primarily at guard despite starting three seasons at tackle while attending UCLA. The difference in approach didn't come as a total shock considering Green Bay picked Rhyan a day earlier while Tom seemed like a bonus O-line selection of sorts.

However, the perceptions quickly flipped. While Rhyan failed to get his feet underneath him during practice, Tom excelled against even the Packers' top pass rushers. During the preseason, Tom handled himself admirably whether lined up at tackle or guard. Though the coaching staff favored Royce Newman and Jake Hanson for starting roles as the regular season neared, Tom left little doubt that he would eventually overtake them in the pecking order.

And that time has come. When Bakhtiari or Elgton Jenkins has missed time over the past two months, Zach Tom has served as the primary replacement. By any standard, the rookie has delivered. According to Pro Football Focus, Tom has allowed just one sack and five total pressures over 168 dropbacks this season. During Week 13's unexpected start in Bakhtiari's stead, he allowed just one pressure (a hurry).

"Certainly, not like a rookie," LaFleur said of Tom's performance this season. "He's stepped in there, and you talk about not flinching in any moment. He's done that. He's stepped right in and I feel like, for the most part, he's played at a pretty high level. So, I'm excited about Zack and the flexibility that, again, another guy that can come in and play multiple positions. You can't have enough guys like that."