Green Bay Packers: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time
By John Buhler
Best first-round draft picks in Green Bay Packers history: 8. Sterling Sharpe
If only he could have stayed health. Man, was Sterling Sharpe fantastic or what? Sharpe starred collegiately for the South Carolina Gamecocks before setting the NFL on fire with his outstanding receiving ability in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Green Bay took him No. 7 overall out of South Carolina and that selection was absolutely worth it.
In just seven years with the Packers, Sharpe made five trips to the Pro Bowl and garnered three All-Pro selections. He led the league in receptions three times, touchdowns twice and receiving yards once in 1992. Sharpe was on his way to being certainly Canton bound, but a serious neck injury forced an early retirement for him after the 1994 NFL season. He was just 29.
Sharpe may have been eventually overshadowed by his younger brother in three-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe of the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. However, Sharpe’s impact as a vertical threat helped usher in the modern deep-threat game in the NFL.
Sharpe retired with 595 receptions for 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns. His No. 2 jersey is retired by the University of South Carolina. Obviously, Sharpe is in the Packers Hall of Fame. Though it has been over two decades since he last played, maybe there is still a chance that one day Sharpe gets himself a most glorious bust in Canton?