Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 14. James Lofton

It might have been a down period for the Packers when he played for them, but wide receiver James Lofton was an outstanding player for them during his nine years with the team. Lofton was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft out of Stanford. He would play with the Packers through the 1986 NFL season.

Lofton’s first year with the Packers was an impressive one. He made his first of eight career trips to the Pro Bowl, where he had 46 receptions for 818 yards and six touchdowns. Two years later, he would entire his prime which would run from 1980 to 1985. Lofton made the Pro Bowl every season during that stretch, made the All-Pro second team three times and was a first team All-Pro in 1981.

Twice did Lofton lead the league in yards per reception with the Packers. He went over 1,000 receiving yards in a season six times in his career, five of which in a Packers uniform. Lofton’s last season with the Packers came in 1986. He played seven more seasons with four other teams, most notably the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders before retiring at the end of the 1993 NFL season at the age of 37. He made his eighth and final Pro Bowl as a member of the 1991 Bills.

Lofton made the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s. He is in the Packers Hall of Fame. After a few extra years of waiting, Lofton finally got the call he had been hoping for. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. HIs Canton classmates include Marcus Allen, Joe DeLamielleure and Hank Stram. Lofton now calls NFL games for CBS in the booth.