Best Green Bay Packers player to wear No. 25 might not be who you think

Welcome back to our series on the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.

With the first quarter of our 100 entries in the bag, we press forward with the next batch, and that batch begins with a tough choice to make here with No. 25. But before we reveal our selection, let's look at everyone who's worn the number for the Green & Gold over the years.

Timmy Brown, HB
Vinnie Clark, CB
Patrick Collins, RB
Harper Davis, B
Wuert Engelmann, B
Marwin Evans, S
Les Goodman, RB
Ryan Grant, RB
Hal Griffen, C
Dave Hampton, RB
Harlan Huckleby, RB
Ed Jankowski, FB
Billy Kinard, B
Dorsey Levens, RB
Jack Losch, HB
Paul Minick, OG
Tom Moore, HB
James Nixon, CB
Keisean Nixon, CB
Muhammad Oliver, CB
Will Redmond, CB
Rudy Rosatti, OT
George Sauer Sr., HB
Marviel Underwood, S
Lee Weigel, RB
Pat West, B
James Whitley, CB
Alex Wizbicki, B
Albert Zupek, E

Of the more than two dozen players on this particular list, only two are members of the Packers Hall of Fame. The first is hard-headed fullback/linebacker Ed Jankowski, he of the infamous incident at Wrigley Field in his rookie season in 1937 when he ran headfirst into the brick wall surrounding the field after scoring a touchdown on an interception return in a victory over the Chicago Bears.

Just that story alone might be worth giving him the slot, but he's not the call here. Besides, he only wore No. 25 in that first of his five seasons with Green Bay, donning No. 7 the rest of the way.

The only other Packers Hall of Famer on this list is running back Dorsey Levens. And we could honestly slide him into this slot and feel pretty good about it. Instead, however, we're rolling with Ryan Grant, and while that might not sit well with every Cheesehead, we genuinely believe it's the right call.

Ryan Grant has the sixth-most rushing yards in Green Bay Packers history

Undrafted in 2005 out of Notre Dame, Grant spent the first two years of his NFL career with the New York Giants but never appeared in a regular-season game for Big Blue before being traded to Green Bay ahead of the 2007 season.

Despite entering that year as the Packers' third-string back, circumstances shifted with injuries and such, and Grant ultimately found himself starting in the back half of the year. After rushing for just 27 yards over the first seven weeks of the season, he tallied 929 over the final 10, the second-highest total in the entire NFL over that stretch behind only LaDainian Tomlinson's 944. He also scored eight rushing touchdowns during that stretch to set a new franchise record for rookies, a mark that has since been broken by Eddie Lacy.

And in the playoff opener against the Seattle Seahawks, he set a new Packers postseason rushing record with 201 yards, which still stands to this day and also serves as the ninth-highest total in NFL playoff history, and also became the first player in Green Bay history with three rushing scores in a postseason game, a mark later matched by Aaron Jones.

The New York native continued to thrive over the next two seasons, rushing for 1,203 yards and four touchdowns in 2008 and 1,253 yards and 11 scores in 2009. Unfortunately, in the season opener of the Packers' Super Bowl-winning 2010 campaign, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

Grant returned healthy in 2011, but after James Starks had emerged as a genuine threat during the 2010 playoffs, the two split carries, with Grant ultimately rushing for 559 yards and Starks going for 578.

The Packers let Grant walk following that 2011 season, but after a very short stint with Washington in 2012, he returned to Green Bay after Starks suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the year, appearing in what turned out to be the final six games of his career between the regular season and playoffs, as he retired in 2013.

So, after running through all that, here's the quick comparison some of you may have been waiting for.

Levens, who went through a lot of the same things Grant did with injuries and another running back coming up to take his spot, that being Ahman Green, undoubtedly deserves his spot in the Packers Hall of Fame, as he had some memorable playoff moments of his own, won a ring with Brett Favre's bunch in 1996, and currrently sits in seventh place on Green Bay's all-time rushing yards list, racking up 3,937 in his eight years in Green Bay.

But here's the thing. Levens needed 103 games to get those 3,937 yards. Meanwhile, in just 68 regular-season appearances for the Packers, Grant tallied 4,143 yards, putting him one spot ahead of Levens on the all-time list. And while Grant appeared in 35 fewer games, his 27 rushing TDs are only one short of Levens' 28.

Now, don't think we didn't take receiving yards into account, as Levens holds a big edge there with 2,079 to Grant's 760. But when you break it down by yards per catch, Grant has the advantage at 8.2 to 7.7.

Again, we could have easily gone with Levens here and been just fine with it. But we still like Grant in this spot, and one would assume that he'll one day join Levens in the Packers Hall of Fame.

Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees

This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.

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Ryan Grant has the sixth-most rushing yards in Green Bay Packers history

Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees

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