Green Bay Packers: Who wore #71 best?

Super Bowl XXXI highlights

With 71 days left until the start of the Green Bay Packers NFL season, our countdown to the big day continues. Sunday, Sept. 11, is the day when the Packers travel to Jacksonville to take on the upstart Jaguars.

Yesterday, we took a look at Dick Afflis, the most interesting and colorful players ever to wear Packers #72.

For an in-depth look at every number and the players who wore them, we highly recommend “Packers by the Numbers: Jersey Numbers and the Players Who Wore Them,” by John Maxymuk.

Did you know that Gilbert Brown actually wore #71 for one season in 1993? But can you name any other players who have worn the number?

Well, there was Kevin Barry, Bill Forester, and Francis Peay, along with Kevin Barry,  Jeff Drost and Tom Finnin, among others who wore #71.

And most of you know that Josh Sitton has been wearing #71 since 2008. Sitton has been consistently the Packers best lineman over the past few years and helped anchor the line that cruised through the playoffs to the Super Bowl in 2010. He’s been getting better with each passing year and didn’t even seem to bat an eye when he was switched from the right side to the left three seasons ago.

We know how good Sitton has become and how important he is to the current team, but for today’s look back, we’re going to focus on another #71 – Santana Dotson.

When Dotson came to Green Bay in the mid-1990s, he helped solidify the Packers’ defensive line that also included Reggie White, Gilbert Brown and Sean Jones. That was a Super Bowl- and Hall-of-Fame-caliber line – one of the best ever in Green Bay.

Let’s take a closer look at this important player of the 1990s.

Next: Santana Dotson brought a toughness to the team