Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 40. Billy Howton

Tight end play has been an important part of the history of the Packers. Lavvie Dilweg first made noise at this position in the 1920s. Billy Howton would continue that success for the Packers in the 1950s for sure.

Howton was a second-round pick by the Packers out of Rice University in the 1952 NFL Draft. He shined magnificently during his first year in the league in 1952. Howton led the league in receiving with 1,231 yards on 53 catches for 13 touchdowns. This would be the first of four Pro Bowl nods Howton would garner in his NFL career.

While he didn’t match his glorious rookie campaign in years two and three, Howton would bounce back with another Pro Bowl year in 1955. This would mark the true beginning of his prime. Howton led the league in receiving with 1,188 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first All-Pro season in 1956. In 1957, Howton earned both his final Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods with the Packers.

After the 1958 NFL season, Howton would leave Green Bay to play for the Cleveland Browns for a season. Beginning in 1960, Howton joined the Dallas Cowboys, where he would spend his final four NFL seasons before retiring in 1963 at age 33. Howton finished with 5,581 receiving yards on 303 receptions and 43 touchdown grabs in seven years with the Packers. Canton still evades Howton, though his overall body of work could make for a compelling Pro Football Hall of Fame case one day.