The Green Bay Packers officially activated All Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari from the PUP list this week. The team is still not sure when Bakhtiari will return to game action. He is presently listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks at Lambeau Field. But once number 69 is back at left tackle, the coaching staff has important decisions to make about the offensive line.

The Packers have a very versatile group of offensive linemen on their roster. Elgton Jenkins can play all five positions along the line. Billy Turner can play anywhere but at center. Lucas Patrick can play center or either guard position while Ben Braden can play either tackle or guard.

The versatility gives the team multiple options as far as which five players should be in the starting lineup and where they should play.

The one position that would be set in stone once Bakhtiari returns is left tackle. Bakhtiari will start there once he’s healthy enough to play. After that, it gets a little more complicated.

The biggest issue is where do they play Elgton Jenkins. He’s done a good job at left tackle but where do the Packers move him now? They can put him back at left guard which would give the team one of the best left sides of an offensive line in the league if not the best. However, they can also move Jenkins to center until Josh Myers returns to the lineup from his knee injury. Or they can move Jenkins to right tackle and move Turner to right guard. That may allow the Packers to put their best five offensive linemen on the field at once although Turner plays tackle better than guard.

If they keep Turner at right tackle and return Jenkins to left guard, the team still will have to choose who would start at right guard. Rookie Royce Newman has started there since Week 1 but he’s been very inconsistent. After a decent start, the former University of Mississippi star’s play has fallen off in recent weeks and he has struggled especially against stunts and on blitz pickups. Do they continue to start Newman there because of his potential upside or do they bench him for now and allow him to learn a bit from the sidelines?

If Newman stays at right guard, the Packers will have to sit Jon Runyan, Jr. who has been starting at left guard since Week 2. Runyan has graded out higher than Newman and the second-year man out of Michigan has been more consistent over the course of the season. Of course, the Pack could also move Runyan to right guard and sit Newman, but would Runyan be as effective on the right side where he would have to do everything almost like a mirror image of the way he’s been doing it all season?

Entering Week 10, Runyan is ranked in the top half of all graded guards according to Pro Football Focus while Newman is near the bottom of the rankings.

If Jenkins isn’t moved to center, the most likely scenario would be having Patrick continue to play there until Myers returns from his knee injury. Patrick has done a solid job overall at the position. The team has yet to announce how far away Myers is from being ready to play again. Myers is currently grading out slightly better than Patrick at center according to PFF.

Head coach Matt LaFleur and offensive line coach Adam Stenavich have some tough decisions to make. If they try to send out the best five overall players, they could force some of them to play out of position or on a different side of the field than they have been accustomed to. If they don’t start their top five, they may not be maximizing the talent on the field.

Here is the most likely lineup once Bakhtiari returns:

LT David Bakhtiari

LG Elgton Jenkins

C Lucas Patrick

RG Jon Runyan Jr.

RT Billy Turner

This lineup allows for the most continuity overall with the only change being Runyan switching to the right side at guard.

Another alternative would be this:

LT David Bakhtiari

LG Jon Runyan Jr.

C Lucas Patrick

RG Billy Turner

RT Elgton Jenkins

This puts the two best linemen at tackle, which is considered a premium position, but has Jenkins and Turner not playing at their best positions on the field.

The third alternative is:

LT David Bakhtiari

LG Jon Runyan Jr

C Elgton Jenkins

RG Royce Newman

RT Billy Turner

This lineup has Jenkins in the middle to help solidify the struggling Newman.

There are several other variations that are possible and additional injuries could complicate things even more, but the ultimate decision may go a long way towards determining how effective the Packers offense is in the second half of the season and in the postseason.