Best Green Bay Packers player to wear No. 81 owns special place in Super Bowl history

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

We kicked off the 80s with one of the most difficult decisions we've had to make throughout this entire journey, as two of the top receivers in franchise history—and we're literally talking the top two receivers in franchise history in terms of yardage—both sported No. 80.

Now, here at No. 81, we've got another tough call to make, only this one isn't quite on the same level. With all due respect to those you'll see below, you're not going to see the likes of Donald Driver or James Lofton on this list. What you will see, though, are several solid players who deserved to be considered for this slot, and we'll go ahead and tell you right here at the get-go that you may not like who we ultimately made our official selection.

That said, let's get things rolling by first running through our normal routine of looking at every player who's worn No. 81 for the Green & Gold over the years.

Geronimo Allison, WR
Ed Berrang, E
Shawn Collins, WR
Tyrone Davis, TE
Josiah Deguara, TE
Marv Fleming, TE
Lee Folkins, TE
Corey Harris, DB
Julian Hicks, WR
Desmond Howard, WR/KR
Chris Jackson, WR
Jim Keane, E
Perry Kemp, WR
Gene Knutson, DE
Gary Lewis, TE
Carlton Massey, DE
Rich McGeorge, TE
Anthony Morgan, WR
Pat O'Donahue, DE
Andrew Quarless, TE
Koren Robinson, WR
Dan Ross, TE
Clive Rush, E
Andrae Thurman, WR
Josh Whyle, TE
A.D. Williams, E

As he's the only member of the Packers Hall of Fame on this list, we naturally took a long look at tight end Marv Fleming, who caught 109 passes for 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns during his seven-season run in Titletown from 1963 to 1969, helping Green Bay to three consecutive NFL Championships and victories in the first two Super Bowls.

Upon Fleming's departure, another tight end, Rich McGeorge, took over No. 81 and wore it through the 1978 season, tallying 175 receptions for 2,370 yards and 13 touchdowns. We also took a look at wide receiver Perry Kemp, who played just four seasons with the Packers from 1988 to 1991 but recorded 182 catches for 2,341 yards and six touchdowns.

Choosing from only those three alone would have been difficult enough, but when you throw in a Super Bowl MVP to boot, the decision got even tougher. And the part some may not like is that this is the direction we went, with that Super Bowl MVP, of course, being Desmond Howard.

Desmond Howard had 244 return yards in the Packers' Super Bowl 31 victory, including a 99-yard touchdown

A unanimous All-American and the Heisman Trophy winner in 1991 at the University of Michigan after recording 61 receptions for 950 yards and a school-record 19 touchdowns as a receiver, 165 yards and two touchdowns as a rusher on 12 carries, and 634 yards and two scores as a kick/punt returner—yeah, he was ridiculous—Howard was taken by the team now known as the Washington Commanders in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft with the No. 4 overall selection.

Knowing how things would go several years later, what's wild is that Washington actually traded up to get the former Wolverine for fear that the Packers would take him at No. 5. Green Bay instead ended up with cornerback Terrell Buckley, who spent just three seasons with the team before being traded to the Miami Dolphins.

Howard was also gone from Washington after three years, as the team left him unprotected for the 1995 expansion draft, where he was taken 55th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, with whom he spent one season before signing with Green Bay ahead of the 1996 season. And what a season it turned out to be, both for Howard and the Packers as a whole.

Howard never became a great receiver in the NFL, and Green Bay certainly didn't use him in that role very often, as he caught just 13 passes for 95 yards on 23 targets. But he was extremely valuable as a return man, and he lit it up for the Packers in that regard in '96, tallying a league-best 875 punt-return yards with three touchdowns, while adding another 460 yards on kickoff returns.

And that was only during the regular season.

In the Packers' playoff opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Howard kicked off the scoring by returning a punt 71 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, with Green Bay ultimately cruising to a 35-14 win. And in the NFC title game against the Carolina Panthers, he racked up 104 yards on just four kickoff returns. But the best was obviously yet to come.

In Super Bowl 31, the Packers held a 27-14 lead over the New England Patriots at the half, but with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Pats cut the lead to 27-21 after Curtis Martin rushed for an 18-yard touchdown, with Adam Vinatieri tacking on the extra point.

But Howard promptly halted New England's momentum, as he caught the ensuing kickoff at the 1-yard line and ran it back 99 yards for a touchdown, thus setting a new record for the longest kickoff return in Super Bowl history. It's since been broken, as Jacoby Jones returned one 108 yards for the Baltimore Ravens in their Super Bowl 47 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, but Howard's remains the second-longest.

The Packers went up 35-21 after Brett Favre connected with Mark Chmura on a two-point conversion, and that proved to be the final score. The 99-yard touchdown was obviously the big highlight for Howard, but he simply had a great game overall, returning four kickoffs for 154 yards and six punts for 90 yards. At the time, his 244 all-purpose yards were tied for the most in a single Super Bowl, but Jacoby Jones took that from him as well with 290.

Nevertheless, Howard's performance for the Packers that night was truly extraordinary, and he was rewarded with Most Valuable Player honors, thus making him the first and still only special teams player to win Super Bowl MVP.

He used the honor to sign a nice contract with the Oakland Raiders, with whom he spent two seasons before returning to Green Bay in 1999, this time wearing No. 82. But it's safe to say that most Cheeseheads like to forget that took place, as he was released after just eight appearances, at which point he signed with the Detroit Lions, with whom he spent the final three and a half seasons of his career, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 2000.

Again, not everybody may agree with this selection, as the other three players mentioned in the intro had much longer runs with Green Bay. But that 1996 season was just so very special, not to mention historic, so we feel very confident in saying that Desmond Howard is the best Packers player to wear No. 81.

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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Desmond Howard had 244 return yards in the Packers' Super Bowl 31 victory, including a 99-yard touchdown

Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees

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