Draft History: Packers dynasty from 1960s built through shrewd selections
The Green Bay Packers have been in existence for 99 of the NFL’s 100 seasons and won 13 league championships, including four Super Bowl titles. Their most productive stretch was from 1960-67, when they won five championships in an eight-year stretch and also lost in the 1960 NFL title game. Nine players on the team's best draft pick list were key participants in at least one of those championship seasons, topped by the MVP of the first two Super Bowls.
BEST
10. (tie) Ray Nitschke, LB (Round 3, Pick 36 in 1958), Dave Robinson, LB (Round 1 Pick 14 in 1963) and Clay Matthews, LB (Round 1, Pick 26 in 2009) - Nitschke moved from quarterback to running back and linebacker at Illinois in an era when two-way players were often the norm. Despite being a Bears fan growing up, Nitschke went on to play 15 seasons with the rival Packers, becoming a starter on all five Green Bay title teams of his era and the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship Game after recovering two fumbles and deflecting a pass that was intercepted by fellow 1958 draftee Dan Currie. Nitschke was one of the toughest players of his era. “Wildman” had two teeth knocked out defending a kickoff while at Illinois, and he continued to play even though two other teeth were hanging by the roots. During training camp in 1960, Nitschke had a steel coaching tower fall over on him, driving a steel bolt into his helmet. He retired before the 1973 season with 23 fumble recoveries, a team record among defensive players, as well as 25 interceptions. The two-time All-Pro and 1964 Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978. Nitschke eventually owned a car dealership, and appeared in the 1974 original version of movie “The Longest Yard.” He died of a heart attack in 1998.
Robinson was Nitchke’s teammate on three Green Bay championship teams from 1965-67. He was a 1962 All-American at Penn State, and chose the Packers over the Chargers, who took him with the 17th pick in the 1963 AFL Draft. After moving from defensive end to linebacker as a rookie, Robinson earned three Pro Bowl selections and was an All-Pro in 1967. He missed 10 games with a torn Achilles tendon in 1970, but recovered and spent two more years in the green and gold before being traded to Washington in 1973. Robinson finished his 10-year Packers career with 21 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. He retired in 1975, and worked for the Campbell’s Soup company, Schlitz Brewery among other business ventures. Robinson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Although he was only a part of one championship team with Green Bay, Matthews is one of the most productive Packer players in the past 40 years. He was a member of three Pac-10 championship teams while at USC, and he earned the Butkus Award as best college linebacker in 2010. Matthews was a Pro Bowler in his first four seasons, and was selected to participate in the NFL’s all-star showcase six times overall. He earned his only All-Pro honor to date in 2010, when he posted a career-high 13½ sacks. Overall, Matthews holds the all-time franchise record with 83½ sacks, including four seasons with 10 or more. He is tied for second in Packers history with 15 forced fumbles, and also has 482 tackles and three defensive touchdowns (two on interceptions and one fumble return). After 10 seasons in Green Bay, Matthews signed with the Rams in 2019 and posted eight sacks in 13 games. He is part of a football family that has seen his grandfather (Clay Sr.), father (Clay Jr.), uncle (Bruce), brother (Casey) and two cousins (Kevin and Jake) all play in the NFL.
9. (tie) James Lofton, WR (Round 1, Pick 6 in 1978) and Donald Driver, WR (Round 7, Pick 213 in 1999) - Lofton played football and was a long jumper at Stanford. He made the Pro Bowl and the All-Rookie Team in 1978, and was an All-Pro in 1981. Lofton was selected to seven Pro Bowls, including six straight from 1980-85, and he amassed five 1,000-yard seasons in Green Bay. After posting 49 touchdowns and setting Packers records with 530 catches and 9,656 yards, Lofton was traded to the Raiders in 1987. Two years later, he signed with the Bills, where he made a Pro Bowl and played in three Super Bowls. Lofton spent his final season with the Rams and Eagles, and retired in 1993. After his playing career, the 2003 Pro Football Hall of Famer spent six years as a wide receivers coach with the Chargers and Raiders before working as a radio and television football analyst on CBS.
Driver was a star receiver and champion high jumper who attended Alcorn State right after Steve McNair left in 1995. He turned his seventh-round selection into seven 1,000-yard seasons, three Pro Bowl selections and a Green Bay title victory over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV. Driver retired in 2012, and he owns Packers records with 743 receptions and 10,137 yards, and he ranks fourth in team history with 61 touchdowns. Since his playing career ended, Driver has been involved with several charitable organizations, written children’s books and won Dancing with the Stars.
8. Paul Hornung, RB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1957) - Hornung was a great all-around player at Notre Dame, excelling at running, passing, blocking, and returning kicks. “The Golden Boy” was a two-time All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1956 as the only player to win the award on a losing team (the Fighting Irish went 2-8). He was a four-time champion with Green Bay, but did not play in Super Bowl I due to a pinched nerve in his neck. Hornung was a two-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and the league MVP in 1961, when he ran for 597 yards and eight touchdowns. That season, he set an NFL Championship Game record with 19 points (four extra points, three field goals and a rushing touchdown) in a 37-0 win over the Giants. Unfortunately, Hornung and Detroit’s Alex Karras were suspended for the entire 1963 season due to their gambling on NFL games. He retired after the 1966 season with 3,711 yards and 50 scores, including a league-high 13 in 1960. Hornung was a football analyst on radio and television for 15 years, and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.
7. (tie) Bobby Dillon, S (Round 3, Pick 28 in 1952) and Herb Adderley, CB (Round 1, Pick 12 in 1961) - Dillon lost an eye as a result of multiple accidents when he was a child, but it didn’t stop him from becoming one of the best defenders in NFL history. He was a safety, punt returner and track sprinter at Texas. Although his professional career lasted only eight seasons, he holds the Packers all-time record with 52 interceptions, including six straight years with six or more. Nicknamed “the Hawk” for his ability to track down the ball on defense, Dillon was a four-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro who also returned five picks for scores. He suffered a leg injury and retired after the 1959 season, eventually working for the Wilsonart manufacturing company for 36 years. He died due to complications from dementia in 2019, barely missing the announcement that he would enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 Centennial Class.
Adderley began his career as a running back at Michigan State, but converted to cornerback after being drafted by the Packers in 1961. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a four-time All-Pro and a five-time champion in nine years with Green Bay. Adderley ranks third in team history with 39 interceptions, and second with seven returned for touchdowns. He returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in a Super Bowl II win over the Raiders. Adderley was then traded to the Cowboys in 1970, and was part of a Super Bowl VI win. Dallas later traded him to the Los Angeles Rams in 1973, but he decided to retire instead. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.
6. Jerry Kramer, G (Round 4, Pick 39 in 1958) - Kramer was a star guard at Idaho, and he was on a college All-Star team that defeated the NFL champion Lions in 1957. Kramer played on five Packers championship teams, although he missed the 1961 title game due to an ankle injury. The five-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler overcame many injuries throughout his life: he developed actinomycosis, a rare bacterial disease, from wood splinters embedded in his abdomen while working on his family’s farm as a teenager. Kramer also was involved in a car accident, suffered muscle damage after backing into a lathe during shop class and required plastic surgery his shotgun exploded during a hunting trip. He became an author after his retirement in the NFL in 1968, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, 50 years after his playing career ended.
5. Jim Taylor, FB (Round 2, Pick 15 in 1958) - Taylor was a 1957 All-American at LSU, where he shared backfield duties with future Heisman Trophy winner and Houston Oilers star Billy Cannon. He started his pro career in a platoon, where he was the “Thunder” to Hornung’s “Lightning,” But Taylor soon became the full-time starter on Green Bay’s five championship teams. He was selected to five straight Pro Bowls from 1960-64, running for at least 1,000 yards in each of those seasons. Taylor was an All-Pro and league MVP in 1962, when he ran for a league-high 1,474 yards and 19 touchdowns. He ran for 56 yards and a score in a Super Bowl I win over the Chiefs, which was his last game in Green Bay. Taylor signed with the expansion Saints in 1967 and spent one year with New Orleans, but retired during training camp the following year because he was upset that he would only be used on special teams. Taylor is the Packers’ all-time leader with 81 rushing touchdowns, and ranks second with 8,207 yards. He was the first of the Lombardi era players elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (in 1976), and was the commissioner of the United States Rugby League in 1978. Taylor died in 2018 at age 83.
4. Forrest Gregg, T (Round 2, Pick 20 in 1956) - Another of the many Hall of Famers that graced Green Bay’s roster during the 1960s, Gregg was a Southern Methodist product who was a reserve as a rookie and missed the 1957 season because he was serving in the Army. He returned and appeared in 176 straight games from 1958-70. Gregg was selected to nine Pro Bowl and seven All-Pro teams, and he started on five Packers championship squads. He signed with the Cowboys in 1971, but retired after one season in Dallas. Gregg then became a coach, starting as an offensive line coach in San Diego and Cleveland before the Browns named him head coach in 1975. He spent three years with Cleveland and also had four-year stints in Cincinnati and Green Bay, amassing a 75-85-1 record and leading the Bengals to Super Bowl XVI. Gregg took over coaching his alma mater in 1989 and led them out of a pay-for-play booster scandal that resulted in a “death penalty” that included the canceling of the 1987 season, a bowl ban, lost scholarships and led to almost all of their current players transferring. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011, and died from complications of the condition in 2019.
3. Jim Ringo, C (Round 7, Pick 80 in 1953) - Ringo was a Syracuse product who earned seven straight Pro Bowl selections, and six All-Pro nods as a member of the Packers. He was the starting center on two championship teams before being traded to the Eagles in May 1964, where he was selected to three more Pro Bowls before retiring after the 1967 season. He spent the next 20 years coaching primarily on the offensive line, and he helped create the “Electric Company” line that blocked for O. J. Simpson’s 2,003-yard campaign with Buffalo in 1973. Ringo took over after Lou Saban resigned as Bills head coach in 1976, but only managed a 3-20 record in two seasons. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981 and died in 2007, two days before his 76th birthday.
2. Aaron Rodgers, QB (Round 1, Pick 24 in 2005) - The lone current Packer on this list, Rodgers did not have any scholarship offers at college, so he played one season at Butte Community College in California before transferring to Cal. He waited to hear his name called at the 2005 Draft, only to see the others in the green room leave one by one until he was the only one left. Rodgers barely played his first three years behind Brett Favre, but became a star once he began starting in 2008, earning league MVP awards in 2011 and ’14. He led Green Bay to three NFC Championship Games, and earned MVP honors after a 304-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV. The eight-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro ranks second in team history behind Favre with 46,946 yards and 364 touchdowns to just 84 interceptions. Outside of football, Rodgers has been in ads for State Farm insurance and Pizza Hut, and he even has an ownership stake in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
1. Bart Starr, QB (Round 17, Pick 200 in 1956) - Before Favre and Rodgers came along, Starr was the holder of all Green Bay’s passing records. He started only two seasons at Alabama due to a back injury from hazing and a platoon situation as both a junior and a senior. Because of this, Starr was selected in the 17th round, and wasn’t a full-time starter in the NFL until his fifth season in 1960. His promotion on the field coincided with the Packers’ rise in the standings, with Starr leading the team to five championships. He has the distinction of being the game MVP of the first two Super Bowls. Starr was a four-time Pro Bowler, and he also earned MVP and All-Pro honors in 1966. Two surgeries on his throwing arm in 1971 ended his career, and Starr turned to coaching. He was the quarterbacks coach in Green Bay in 1972 and posted a 52-76-3 record as Packers head coach from 1975-83. The 1977 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee has an NFL award named after him that is given to the player who best shows character and leadership. Starr suffered from many health ailments, as he had multiple strokes, a heart attack and a broken hip. He died in 2019 at age 85.
WORST
10. Ahmad Carroll, CB (Round 1, Pick 25 in 2004) - Caroll was a two-time All-SEC selection in football at Arkansas, and a two-time All-American track sprinter. Despite his speed, he was penalty-prone and not good in coverage, resulting in the Packers cutting him four games into the 2006 season. The Jaguars signed Carroll later in the season, but he was released the following year after being arrested on weapons and drug possession charges. He played with the Jets in 2008-09 and spent the next three years between the United Football League and the CFL, retiring after winning the Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts in 2012.
9. John Michels, T (Round 1, Pick 27 in 1996) - Michels was an All-Pac-10 selection in 1995 after converting from defensive end to offensive tackle at USC. He made the NFL All-Rookie team the following year, and was a part of a Packers squad that defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Michels missed six games with a right knee injury in 1997, and was out all of the next season after reaggravating the injury. He was traded to the Eagles in 1999, but his knee forced him to retire after just a few weeks of training camp. Michels earned a medical degree in 2008 and now works at a center in Dallas, helping others with therapy and injury rehabilitation.
8. Larry Elkins, WR (Round 1, Pick 10 in 1965) - A player appearing on a best- or worst-drafted player list for multiple teams is rare, let alone when those teams pick consecutively in this year’s draft. That is the case with Elkins, a Baylor product who was taken by both the Oilers and Packers, but chose to play with the fledgling AFL team rather than an NFL squad that was about to win three straight championships. Elkins also was a safety and kick returner at Baylor, but his career was derailed by knee and collarbone injuries and he retired in 1969. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
7. Jamal Reynolds, DE (Round 1, Pick 10 in 2001) - Reynolds was an All-American and Lombardi Award winner (for best lineman in college football) with Florida State in 2000. He spent most of his three seasons in Green Bay dealing with knee and back injuries. After posting three sacks in 18 games, Reynolds was traded to the Colts, but failed a physical after doctors found a slipped disc in his back. The Packers released Reynolds and he was picked up by the Browns in 2004, but was cut during training camp and has not played in the NFL since.
6. Brent Fullwood, FB (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1987) - Fullwood was an All-American at Auburn in 1986. He finished his four-year career with 1,702 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he also had 15 fumbles. Fullwood led the Packers with 821 yards, and made the Pro Bowl in 1989. Despite his production, new Green Bay coach Lindy Infante said he did not fit into the team’s system, and he was traded to the Browns in 1990. Fullwood did not have a carry in one game with the Browns, and the team waived him at the end of the season. Fullwood’s main problem was focus. He stopped going to classes during his senior season at Auburn, and pulled himself out of what turned out to be his last game with Green Bay due to being “sick” (but managed to will himself to a nightclub after the game).
5. Justin Harrell, DT (Round 1, Pick 16 in 2007) - Harrell was a Clemson product, but suffered a torn bicep tendon while with the Tigers that affected his early days in Green Bay. He missed 10 games in 2008, and then all of the following year, due to two surgeries to repair a herniated disc in his back. Harrell suffered a torn ACL in the opening game of the 2010 season, forcing him to miss the rest of the year. He was released by the Packers and then retired in 2011 after missing more games (50) than he played (14) in his four-year career. Harrell now serves as the defensive line coach for Lebanon High School in Tennessee.
4. Randy Duncan, QB (Round 1, Pick 1 in 1959) - Duncan was an All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up (to Army running back Pete Dawkins) after leading the nation with 1,397 yards and 12 touchdowns with Iowa in 1958. He spurned the Packers to play for more money with the CFL’s British Columbia Lions. Duncan played two seasons in Canada, and then spent one year with the Dallas Texans, who eventually would become the Chiefs. After the Texans traded for future Super Bowl-winner and Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson, Duncan retired from football. He operated a successful law practice in Iowa until he died from brain cancer in 2016.
3. Bruce Clark, DE (Round 1, Pick 4 in 1980) - Clark was another high pick who chose Canada over the Packers. Bart Starr was head coach and general manager at the time, and he wanted Clark to play nose tackle in the team’s 3-4 defense, something Clark hadn’t done in college. A series of miscommunications ended with Clark signing with the Toronto Argonauts, where he played two seasons. He returned to the U. S. in 1982, but the Packers still held his rights. The Saints traded their 1983 first-round pick for Clark, and he amassed 39½ sacks with New Orleans, including 10½ in his Pro Bowl season in 1984. After seven seasons with the Saints, he signed with the Chiefs in 1989, playing one year in Kansas City. He spent one year each with the Arena Football League’s Detroit Drive and the Barcelona Dragons of the World League of American Football before retiring in 1992.
2. Rich Campbell, QB (Round 1, Pick 6 in 1981) - Campbell was an All-American in 1980 at California, but he threw just 68 passes in four seasons with Green Bay while backing up Lynn Dickey. He signed with the Raiders in 1985, but never played for Los Angeles and retired. After his playing career ended, Campbell became a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida. He was the last quarterback taken by the Packers in the first round before Aaron Rodgers in 2005.
1. Tony Mandarich, T (Round 1, Pick 2 in 1989) - A two-time Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year and a 1988 All-American, Mandarich was one of the most-hyped NFL prospects in recent memory. He even had a Sports Illustrated cover story calling him “The Incredible Bulk.” Mandarich let all the attention get to his head, holding out until a week before the season and putting up lackluster performances, even on special teams (leading to another SI cover with him labeled “The NFL’s Incredible Bust”). Green Bay cut Mandarich in 1991 after three seasons, and he checked into a rehab clinic to deal with drug, alcohol and steroid addiction. He signed with the Colts in 1996, and played three seasons before retiring due to a shoulder injury. Mandarich has now beaten his addictions, and runs his own photography studio.
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/ and college football statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/
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