Welcome back once again to Lombardi Ave's series highlighting the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
We've come to the end of the 60s, and we've got a special entry to close out this group here at No. 69 with one of the best offensive linemen in franchise history, one who served as Aaron Rodgers' blindside protector for a decade and racked up some individual accolades that helped him achieve a feat not seen in Green Bay for more than half a century.
But before we break all that down, let's first look at every player who's worn No. 69 for the Green & Gold over the years.
- Bill Bain, OT
- David Bakhtiari, OT
- Dante Barnett, DL
- Jeff Blackshear, G
- Bill Cherry, C
- Tiny Engebretsen, OL/K
- Bill Forester, DT/LB
- Bob Gruber, OT
- Leotis Harris, G
- Dave Stephenson, G/C
Outside our official selection, a couple of other players certainly deserve to be mentioned, and they just so happen to be the only two members of the Packers Hall of Fame on the list, at least for now.
First, we've got offensive lineman Tiny Engebretsen, who also handled kicking duties at times. Engebretsen was actually the first player in Packers history to sport No. 69, wearing it during his first season with the team in 1934 before switching to No. 34, which he wore for six of his eight seasons in Green Bay, also wearing No. 52 for a year.
Secondly, we've got versatile defender Bill Forester, who began his professional career at defensive tackle before transitioning to linebacker, where he earned four Pro Bowl selections and three First-Team All-Pro nods. Forester wore No. 69 for the first six seasons of his career from 1953 to 1958 and then donned No. 71 for the final five from 1959 to 1963.
Forester certainly takes the runner-up slot over Engebretsen, but the clear-cut winner here is David Bakhtiari.
David Bakhtiari earned All-Pro honors in five of his 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers
After earning back-to-back Second-Team All-Pac-12 selections at the University of Colorado, Bakhtiari was taken in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft with the 109th overall selection.
The California native was not slated to start as a rookie, but when starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga suffered a torn ACL in training camp during the team's "Family Night" scrimmage, Bakhtiari slid into the role and just never relinquished it.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder quickly developed a reputation as one of the best pass-blocking tackles in the NFL, which obviously allowed Rodgers to become one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and he was rewarded with a four-year, $48 million extension ahead of the 2016 season.
Bakhtiari wasted little time proving he was worth every penny, as that '16 campaign resulted in him earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl, as well as a Second-Team All-Pro selection. He earned Second-Team All-Pro honors again in 2017, First-Team All-Pro honors in 2018, and both Pro Bowl and Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2019.
Having another fantastic year during the COVID-affected 2020 season, he was given another lucrative extension midway through the season, this time to the tune of four years and $105.5 million, thus making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history at the time.
Bakhtiari ultimately earned his third Pro Bowl selection and a second First-Team All-Pro nod, with the latter making him only the second offensive tackle in Packers history and the first in more than 50 years to receive an All-Pro selection from the Associated Press in five consecutive seasons. The first member of this two-man club was from way back in the Vince Lombardi era, with Hall of Famer Forrest Gregg receiving First-Team honors in six straight seasons from 1962 to 1967.
So, that's some solid company to be in right there.
The bad news from that 2020 season is that just six weeks after signing his new contract, Bakhtiari suffered a torn ACL during a practice on New Year's Eve, ending his season and costing him all but one game of the 2021 campaign as well. He returned to play 11 games in 2022, but a knee injury limited him to just one game in 2023, which proved to be his final game, as Green Bay released him in March 2024.
It's certainly a shame how his career ended, but Bakhtiari can unquestionably say that he's one of the greatest offensive linemen in the 100-plus-year history of Green Bay football, and he undoubtedly deserves this title of the greatest Packers player ever to wear No. 69.
Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees
- No. 0: There's literally only one choice here
- No. 1: Micah Parsons isn't the pick just yet
- No. 2: The Packers' all-time leading scorer
- No. 3: The second player in franchise history to have his jersey retired
- No. 4: There's no introduction needed here
- No. 5: This player should have been the last to wear the number but wasn't
- No. 6: A genuine ironman
- No. 7: This player was straight magic (until he wasn't)
- No. 8: This player has the second-most points in Packers history
- No. 9: The winner here has an extremely famous relative
- No. 10: A star on the rise
- No. 11: Packers' first title-winning QB
- No. 12: Obviously isn't up for debate
- No. 13: Had 'no weakness'
- No. 14: The first to have his jersey retired by the Packers
- No. 15: Owns a special piece of NFL history
- No. 16: Shares his name with an MLB legend
- No. 17: Had to beat out several Hall of Famers
- No. 18: Was one of the NFL's first dual-threat quarterbacks
- No. 19: Had his career cut short by the Bears
- No. 20: Has held a record for nearly 100 years
- No. 21: Has the most defensive TDs in NFL history
- No. 22: Also served in the U.S. Congress
- No. 23: Holds several NFL kick-return records
- No. 24: Owns a unique piece of Super Bowl history
- No. 25: Might not be who you think
- No. 26: Holds a historic place in NFL history
- No. 27: Started hot but fizzled fast
- No. 28: A good defender on some bad teams
- No. 29: Still holds an unofficial team record
- No. 30: It's not the one who's the Packers' all-time leading rusher
- No. 31: Had his jersey retired by another team
- No. 32: Is a member of another team's Ring of Honor
- No. 33: Did so much more than people may realize
- No. 34: An underrated dual-threat back
- No. 35: Gave the Packers a unique win over the Bears
- No. 36: Invented the Lambeau Leap
- No. 37: Suited up for the Packers at the wrong time
- No. 38: Left the Packers as the NFL's all-time passing leader
- No. 39: Was taken in three different MLB drafts
- No. 40: The only man in both the Baseball and Pro Football Hall of Fame
- No. 41: Made a big impact in a little time
- No. 42: Was the charter member of an elite club
- No. 43: Inadvertently created a new play
- No. 44: Made the Hall of Fame despite only having one eye
- No. 45: Left the NFL with the most TDs in history
- No. 46: Was underappreciated in the Lombardi era
- No. 47: Later played on the PGA Tour
- No. 48: Just missed out on the Lombardi era
- No. 49: Was one of the best O-linemen of his era
- No. 50: The Packers' all-time leading tackler
- No. 51: Is a member of three Halls of Fame
- No. 52: Is a member of a royal NFL family
- No. 53: Didn't miss a single game for a decade
- No. 54: Was 'The Rock' way before Dwayne Johnson
- No. 55: Had a solid career after going undrafted
- No. 56: Was a steady presence during the 2000s
- No. 57: Put on a gutsy Super Bowl performance
- No. 58: Kicked off the Packers' greatest draft class
- No. 59: Received a special Hall of Fame honor
- No. 60: Was involved in two famous trades
- No. 61: Was a reliable specialist for a decade
- No. 62: Put on the ultimate show of toughness
- No. 63: Was the first in NFL history to win six titles
- No. 64: Had an absurd amount of surgeries
- No. 65: Proved to be a seventh-round steal
- No. 66: Wildly wanted to play for the Bears
- No. 67: Once got a shoutout from John Madden
- No. 68: Nearly gave up football
This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.
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