David Bakhtiari

David Afrasiab Assad Bakhtiari (born September 30, 1991) is an American former professional football offensive tackle. Selected by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft, Bakhtiari played for the Packers for 11 seasons. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes from 2009 to 2012.

Early life David Afrasiab Assad Bakhtiari was born on September 30, 1991, in San Mateo, California. His older brother, Eric Bakhtiari, went on to play defensive end at the University of San Diego and for numerous NFL teams, most recently the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. His father is of Bakhtiari Lur descent.

He attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, where he lettered two years in football and lacrosse, being named a team captain during his second year. A notable performance during his high school career in football came against Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, in which he held future USC Trojan Kevin Greene to no sacks and only allowed two tackles. In a 2009 interview, Bakhtiari commented: "People come up to me and go, 'Oh, you're only a two-star'. But I don't really care what my ranking is. All that matters is how you do when you put on the pads." He received interest from several schools, receiving offers and visiting Colorado, Utah, UTEP, and Washington before signing his letter of intent with Colorado.

Before his final season started, Bakhtiari was named to the preseason first-team All-Pac-12 squad. He started eleven games at left tackle, missing the game against Oregon with a knee sprain after attempting to play in the pre-game. Additionally, he earned second-team honors by the league coaches for the second year in a row. He added that his declaration for the draft had nothing to do with Colorado's 1–11 season the year before and subsequent firing of head coach Jon Embree.

The Green Bay Packers selected Bakhtiari in the fourth round, (109th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. He was the ninth offensive tackle drafted and the first of two the Green Bay Packers drafted ahead of fourth round pick JC Tretter (122nd overall).

During the Packers' 'Family Night' inter squad scrimmage later in training camp, starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga succumbed to a torn ACL injury. Due to the injury and Bakhtiari's play during training camp, he was inserted as the starting left tackle in the Packers first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. Though they lost, it was later noted that one of the positives to take away was the steady play of the rookies. He later went on to start every game at left tackle for the Packers, becoming the first rookie to do so in Green Bay since the start of the 16-game schedule employed by the NFL since 1978 and the only NFL rookie to start every game that season at left tackle in 2013. He was a key contributor to Green Bay finishing seventh in the league for rushing (blocking for rookie running back Eddie Lacy) and sixth in passing for the first time since 2004.

Following his rookie season, Bakhtiari worked significantly on his strength and continued to fight for his job at left tackle, prompting the Packers to move Bryan Bulaga to right tackle and have Bakhtiari at left. Later in the current Packers season, he was placed on the injury report for the game against the Miami Dolphins due to a back injury. He played in all 16 games of his sophomore season as well as the 2 playoff games.

On September 13, 2016, the Green Bay Packers signed Bakhtiari to a four-year, $48 million contract extension that includes $16.7 million guaranteed and a $15 million signing bonus.

On November 15, 2020, the Packers signed Bakhtiari to a four-year, $105.5 million contract extension that would make him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history. On December 21, 2020, he was selected for the 2021 Pro Bowl. On December 31, 2020, Bakhtiari tore his ACL in practice and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. He was placed on injured reserve two days later. On January 8, 2021, he made the 2020 All-Pro Team first-team.

Bakhtiari was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list to start the 2021 season, which meant he would miss at least the first six games. He was activated on November 10, 2021, ahead of the Packers' Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks. However, he was declared inactive for nearly every game of the remainder of the regular season. On January 9, 2022, ahead of the season finale against the Detroit Lions, the Packers declared Bakhtiari active for the first time since Week 16 of the previous season. Bakhtiari played 20 snaps in the first half before third-string left tackle Yosh Nijman relieved him for the remainder of the game. The Packers had a bye for the first-round of the playoffs with their conference-best 13–4 record, and played against the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. On the morning of the game, the Packers declared Bakhtiari inactive for the game, with starting right tackle Billy Turner replacing Bakhtiari at the left tackle spot after returning from injury.

On December 2, 2022, the Packers announced Bakhtiari had to have an emergency appendectomy and would be forced to miss the Week 13 game of the 2022 season against the Chicago Bears.

Bakhtiari was placed on injured reserve on September 28, 2023, with a knee injury. In October 2023, it was announced that he would miss the remainder of the 2023 season due to a surgery on his knee.

On March 11, 2024, Bakhtiari was released by the Packers after 11 seasons.

Personal life Bakhtiari resides in Burlingame, California. The couple married on March 5, 2022. Their first child, a daughter, was born December 7, 2022. Their second child, a son, was born on January 8, 2025.

Bakhtiari introduced the Packers to the board game Settlers of Catan which soon became a team favorite. He was also responsible for a group of Packers players appearing in Pitch Perfect 2, when he reached out to director Elizabeth Banks on Twitter.