What NFL draft prospect wouldn’t mind working here? Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
There have been a number of great wide receivers to wear the green and gold throughout the history of the Green Bay Packers. Some have made the NFL Hall of Fame, while some have simply made their team a contender with their performance each week.
And although many Packer Nation fans may argue that players on this list had the luxury of playing with Hall of Fame quarterbacks such as Bart Starr, Brett Favre and dare I say, Aaron Rodgers, I would like to believe each quarterback may not have had such a successful career without the play from each wide receiver named below.
So here is the Packers’ top 10 wide receivers of all time. Feel free to share your thoughts and let us know if we dropped the ball (no pun intended).
10. Jordy Nelson (2008-present)
Nelson finds himself opening the start of this top 10 list, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes his career near the top five.
Drafted with the fifth pick of the second round in the 2008 draft, Packers fan could be given a pass if they haven’t heard about walk-on at Kansas State. In his first two seasons with Green Bay, Nelson failed to eclipse 400 yards. It wasn’t until his third year in Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers did Nelson become a household name. He caught a 29-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the game and finished with nine receptions for 140 yards.
Over the next four seasons he would eclipse the 1,000 yard receiving mark three times. His most impressive seasons might have been in 2013. Despite playing with three other quarterbacks when Aaron Rodgers was lost for a majority of the season with a broken collarbone, Nelson finished with 1,314 yards receiving and eight touchdowns.
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Before last season, Nelson singed a four-year extension worth $39 million and has lived up to every penny so far. He finished the year with 13 touchdowns and a record 1,519 receiving yards, passing former Packer Robert Brooks for most receiving yards in a season.
Despite consistent numbers, Nelson has been named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro only once. However, that should change throughout his career as he is now considered one of the league’s best.
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9. Billy Howton (1952-58)
Howton was drafted by the Packers in the second round of the 1952 NFL Draft and earned immediate comparisons to former Packers All-Pro Don Hutson because of his speed and hands. In his rookie season he finished with a league-leading 1,231 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. (a rookie record that wouldn’t be broken until Randy Moss in 1998)
During his seven seasons with Green Bay, he led his team in receiving yards for six straight seasons (’52-57), led the league in receiving yards twice (’52 and ’56) and touchdown receptions once (’56). Howton was also named to the Pro Bowl four times and an All-Pro twice.
He finished his Packers career with 5,581 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns while teams records such as 257 yards in a game in 1956 and two 200-plus receiving games.
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8. Max McGee (1954, ’57-67)
Although McGee never eclipsed the 1,000 receiving mark with the Packers, he was the teams leading receiver for the majority of his career.
In his rookie season, McGee caught 36 passes for 614 yards and nine touchdowns. His NFL career would then be put on hold as he spent the next two seasons serving as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Upon his return, he helped the team to six NFL championship appearances, five NFL championship wins and two Super Bowl titles.
McGee might be best known for what took place during the 1966 season. During the season he only caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown as the Packers went 12-2 and advanced to Super Bowl I against the Kansas City Chiefs. McGee did not expect to play in the game and spent the night before the game out on the town.
When Boyd Dowler went down with a separated shoulder on the Packers’ second drive of the game, McGee was forced into the lineup. After borrowing a team mates helmet because he left his in the locker room, he finished the game with 138 receiving yards and two touchdowns helping the Packers win 35-10.
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7. Greg Jennings (2006-12)
Jennings was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft and was immediately named a started opposite of Donald Driver. He finished the season being named to the NFL All Rookie team and also caught Brett Favre’s 400th touchdown pass against the Detroit Lions.
His career was filled with memorable moments that all Packers fans could appreciate. In 2007, Jennings caught a 16-yard pass from Favre that broke the all-time touchdown pass record, he caught an 82-yard touchdown pass in overtime to defeat the Denver Broncos and caught Aaron Rodgers’ first touchdown pass.
In 2009, Jennings caught a 50-yard game-winning touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the season opener and finished with eight receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown in the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history against the Arizona Cardinals.
However, his most memorable moment may be Jennings’ performance in Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the game with 64 yards and score two touchdowns and one huge play on third down to seal the game which resulted in the wide receiver screaming “oh my goodness!”
And although his career with the Packers resulted in an ugly divorce where he refused to acknowledge Rodgers by his name, but only by his number, the two time Pro Bowl player finished with 425 receptions, 6,537 yards receiving and 53 touchdowns.
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6. Antonio Freeman (1995-2001)
“HE DID WHAT?!?”
The improbable Monday Night Football touchdown catch in 2000 against the Minnesota Vikings might be what Freeman is most known for, but his career with the Packers should not be overlooked.
In seven seasons with Green Bay, Freeman led the team in receiving from 1996-99. He also led the NFL in receiving in 1998. In 1997, his 81-yard touchdown catch helped lead the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI over the New England Patriots. Freeman also caught nine passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-24 Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos the following year.
His career finished with a Pro Bowl big (1998), named to the All-Pro team (’98) and was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Lambeau Field. Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
5. Boyd Dowler (1959-1971)
Dowler played 12 solid seasons for Green Bay and earned a spot on the 1960s All-Decade Team. After winning the 1959 Rookie of the Year award, Dowler became Bar Starr’s go-to guy during the team’s five championships of the ‘60s.
Although he hurt his shoulder in the first quarter of Super Bowl 1 and was unable to continue, he was a major contributor in Super Bowl II the following year. He caught a 62-yard touchdown in that game helping his team beat the Oakland Raiders 33-14.
The two-time Pro Bowl player finished his career with 448 receptions, 6,918 receiving yards and 40 touchdowns.
It was Andrew Quarless’s block that sprang Donald Driver on a catch and run that he called the best of his career. Raymond T. Rivard photograph
4. Donald Driver (1999-2012)
Driver was picked by the Packers in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. The little known wide receiver from Alcorn State finished his career as one of the most consistent wide receivers to ever play the game.
Throughout his 14-season career, Driver only missed four games and posted over 1,000 receiving yards seven times. The four-time Pro Bowl player has more receptions (743) and receiving yards (10,137) than any other receiver in Packers’ history. His veteran leadership also helped the Packers win Super Bowl XLV against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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3. James Lofton (1978-86)
Lofton was drafted seventh overall by the Packers in the 1978 NFL Draft. He was named the National Conference rookie of the year and a Pro Bowl player in his first season.
Throughout his nine seasons with the Packers, Lofton was named to the Pro Bowl seven times and All-Pro four times. The soft-handed speedster averaged 20 yards per catch or more in five seasons, leading the league in ’83 and ’84 with an average of 22.4 and 22 yards.
Unfortunately, Lofton was only on two winning teams in Green Bay. In his last season with the Packers he was charged with sexual assault after an incident in a local bar. The team suspended Lofton with one game left in the ’86 season. And although Lofton was later acquitted of the charge, the team traded him to the Raiders for a third- and fourth-round pick.
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2. Sterling Sharpe (1988-94)
Sharpe was the first round, seventh overall pick by the Packers in 1988 and he made an immediate impact on the team starting all 16 games. In his sophomore season, he led the league with 90 receptions and finished with 1,423 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Enter Brett Favre in 1992 and the dynamic duo became one of the top passing tandems in the league. At the end of the season, Sharpe set the NFL’s single-season reception record with 108. He became one of only seven players in NFL history to win the “Triple Crown” at the receiver position, leading the league in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and receptions finishing with 1,461 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The following season in 1993, Sharpe broke his own record with 112 receptions. It was the first time a player had consecutive seasons catching more than 100 passes in NFL history.
Favre was just entering his prime and it seemed that the two would demolish every NFL passing and receiving record ever set. Unfortunately, the five time All-Pro had his career cut short by a neck injury suffered during the 1994 season which left many Packers fans wondering what if?
General view of the Don Hutson Center. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
1. Don Hutson (1935-45)
Hard to argue this one.
Don Hutson defined the split end position in pro football. At a time when every NFL team ran the ball, Hutson and the Green Bay Packers found a new way to win each game through their aerial attack. In fact, Hutson is credited with creating many of the modern routes used by receivers in todays game.
Hutson held 19 NFL records when he retired. He led the NFL in pass receptions eight times and led in scoring five times, was named winner of Joe F. Carr Trophy (NFL MVP) in ’41 and ’42, was a three time NFL champion (1936, 1939, 1944) named on the Associated Press All-Pro teams from 1940-45, scored a league-record 29 points in a quarter and finished his career with 99 touchdowns.
For all of his accolades, Hutson had his number 14 retired by the Packers, the team’s indoor practice facility named after him and he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1963.