Green Bay Packers 100: Second best receiver in franchise history
We continue our “Packers 100” countdown looking at the best wide receivers in franchise history. Green Bay Packers football is just 92 days away. You can find the full countdown here.
2. James Lofton
“Graceful” and “smooth-as-silk” are just a couple of descriptive terms that immediately come to mind in watching old clips of the Packers No. 2 all-time receiver blow past defenses with his 4.3 speed. His 16-year mission to become one of the greatest of all-time at his position, though, wasn’t quite as effortless as his on-field exploits often appeared to be.
Coming out Stanford University as the Packers sixth-overall pick in the first round of the 1978 draft, James Lofton certainly passed the eye-ball test at six-foot-three with quick, soft hands and a long stride that not only allowed him to get past defensive backs, but leave them in another area code.
The coaching staff was amazed at how easily their prized rookie picked up the playbook, but Lofton was no ordinary jock prior to moving to Packers News. He graduated with an engineering degree while at Palo Alto and might have actually pursued a career in that field had he not been discovered by future San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh.
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Impressed by his speed and fluid motion as a track-and-field athlete, the old coach soon made him the centerpiece of his Cardinal passing attack and Lofton did his part by posting 931 yards on 53 receptions along with scoring 12 touchdowns in his senior year.
The 22-year-old sprinter and world-class long jumper instantly became a deep threat that defenses had to account for in his first year as a pro and was named the 1978 offensive rookie of the year and was named to the Pro Bowl for his efforts.
Lofton would surpass the 1,000-yard mark in five of his nine seasons in Green Bay, but never had more than 75 catches in a Packers uniform and throughout his career that saw him play for four other teams (the Raiders, Bills, Eagles and Rams) before hanging up the cleats at the age of 37.
The Fort Ord, California native could have added a lot more catches to his ledger if he so desired, especially if he would have entered the league 10 years later. But Lofton was never the type to go underneath and make the safe five-yard play on a simple hitch route; he was a thoroughbred who was born to run downfield and attack corners deep.
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To hear his former quarterback Lynn Dickey describe offensive passing games during the years Lofton rose to prominence, quarterbacks, he stated in a recent interview, routinely took deeper seven-step drops with the intent to go long.
The deep-ball artist led the NFL by averaging 22.4 and 22.0 yards per catch in 1983 and 1984.
Lofton was often so far ahead of his defender that many of his receptions were uncontested. In fact, the speedster had to at times actually slow down and wait for the ball because of his remarkable playing speed that allowed him to be a few steps ahead of his own quarterback.
The other part of his game that No. 80 used to his advantage was his size. Lofton was a master at getting his long frame in front of his immediate cover man and then quickly turning upfield in one motion.
Much like Calvin Johnson did for years in Detroit, Lofton had the ability to make any quarterback look good because of the nightmare matchups he created against defensive backs that couldn’t lock him down.
Although Green Bay never won more than eight games during the Hall-of-Famer’s nine years in a Packers’ uniform, the Boys from Packers News did assemble a few high-flying offenses in the early 80s with the aforementioned Dickey at the helm.
The addition of John Jefferson via trade in 1981 planted the seeds for an explosive passing attack that hit its climax during the 1983 season that saw the Packers put up a then team-record 429 points. Lofton, Jefferson and tight end Paul Coffman caught 26 of Dickey’s 32 touchdowns.
In his ninth season as a pro, Lofton became the 14th player in league history to catch 500 or more passes along with also with surpassing Don Hutson’s all-time team reception record of 488 catches.
In later years, the legendary pass catcher revealed that he almost felt “sad” about breaking multiple records previously held by Hutson and compared his accomplishments to shattering Babe Ruth’s records in baseball.
Lofton’s stay in the Dairy State, however, wasn’t all rainbows and gumdrops. In 1986, the eight-time Pro Bowler was accused of forcing an exotic dancer to perform a sexual act on the stairs of a local night venue.
Although the married father of three was found innocent in a court of law, his reputation among many Packer backers had been tarnished. When local sponsors threatened to cut their ties with the organization, Green Bay felt compelled to ship off their 30-year-old superstar to the Los Angeles Raiders for the mere pittance of a third-round pick in the 1987 draft plus a conditional choice in 1988.
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Lofton’s two years in Silver and Black were ones he’d rather forget as his numbers progressively worsened. After a 1988 season in which his recorded 549 yards and no touchdowns, the Raiders prematurely gave up on their vertical threat and let him walk.
The Raiders loss was Buffalo’s gain with Lofton re-emerging as an elite weapon in the “K-Gun” offense led by quarterback Jim Kelly. At 35 years old, the ex-Packer eclipsed the 1,000 mark in 1991.
The Bills’ elder statesman looked like the Lofton of old with his deep speed and uncanny ability to come down with spectacular over-the-shoulder catches.
The 16-year pro would end up playing in three Super Bowls and retired with an NFL-record 14,014 receiving yards (which has since been broken) in 1995.
Lofton’s longevity speaks to his tireless work ethic and professionalism throughout his years in the NFL. He holds the interesting distinction of being one of only two players to have caught a pass in the 1970s, 80s and 90s along with the recently deceased Drew Hill.
Former coach Marv Levy summed up what Lofton meant to his team when he offered, “He was a true gentleman and a great leader. There was no showboat in him, no hot dog in him. He did everything with class.”
Next: Who ranks in at No. 3 in Packers' top receivers?
If there are any lingering regrets about this man’s career, they should be held by Packers fans that never were afforded the chance of seeing Lofton play out his illustrious career where he belonged—in Green Bay, Wisconsin.