Packers: David Bakhtiari tops Joe Thomas’ tackle rankings for 2021

The Green Bay Packers are lucky to have David Bakhtiari at left tackle.

Bakhtiari has consistently been arguably the best pass protector in football for half a decade and he’s the best left tackle since Cleveland Browns legend Joe Thomas.

Talking of Thomas, the six-time first-team All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler, and future Hall-of-Famer, has ranked the best tackles in the NFL entering the 2021 season.

At number one in Thomas’ rankings? That would be Agent 69 himself, David Bakhtiari.

In the article, Thomas praised Bakhtiari’s pass protection but also added that he’s the “most balanced all-around tackle in the NFL”.

If there’s someone who knows what it takes to be a dominant tackle, it’s Thomas. So it’s no surprise to see Bakhtiari top of his rankings entering 2021.

Bakhtiari is still a way off catching Thomas’ incredible All-Pro and Pro Bowl numbers, but his list of honors isn’t too bad either. Bakhtiari has now been an All-Pro in each of the past five seasons, twice in the first team and three times the second team. He has also made the Pro Bowl three times including in each of the past two seasons.

Bakhtiari is also Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked tackle for 2021. They wrote that he “leads all tackles in true pass set grade over the past five years by more than eight grading points”, highlighting his sustained success at left tackle.

The concern for Bakhtiari is whether he’ll be available for the Packers at the start of the regular season. He is still recovering from a torn ACL and, as he suffered the injury on the final day of 2020, there’s a chance he misses some time at the start of the season.

But if there’s one player you wouldn’t count out making an early return from injury and putting together another All-Pro year, it’s David Bakhtiari. Here’s hoping the NFL’s best tackle will be out there in the Packers’ season opener next month.