The Greatest Green Bay Packers Players of All Time

Here is my list, ranked from one to ten: Don Hutson, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre, Reggie White, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Charles Woodson, Jim Taylor, Willie Davis and Forrest Gregg. Fans of every era will find a name they think sits too low, which is half the fun.

A list like this has to cover decades of football. I weighed how much each player changed games, how long he did it in Green Bay, and what the team won while he was there.

1. Don Hutson (1935 to 1945)

Hutson almost played in Brooklyn. Coming out of Alabama, he signed contracts with both the Packers and the Brooklyn Dodgers, and both reached the NFL office together. League president Joe Carr ruled that Green Bay’s came first, and the Packers got the receiver who would change how the game was played.

Hutson caught 488 passes for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns in 11 seasons, and he led the NFL in receptions eight times. He was the league MVP in 1941 and 1942. The Pro Football Hall of Fame credits him with creating routes like the buttonhook and the hook-and-go that receivers still run today.

He gets the top spot because defenses had to change how they played to stop him.

What people forget

Hutson also played safety. He intercepted 30 passes in his last six seasons, and in one quarter of a 1945 game he caught four touchdown passes and kicked five extra points for 29 points, still the NFL record for a quarter.

2. Aaron Rodgers (2005 to 2022)

Rodgers backed up Brett Favre for three seasons and became the starter in 2008. He went on to win four MVP awards, in 2011, 2014, 2020 and 2021, and he was the MVP of Super Bowl XLV. He ranks second because very few players have been this good for this long at quarterback.

The full case for him, with Favre and Starr beside him, is in who is the best Packers quarterback of all time.

What people forget

The San Francisco 49ers took Alex Smith in the 2005 draft instead of Rodgers, and he slid all the way down to Green Bay at 24th overall.

3. Brett Favre (1992 to 2007)

Favre won three straight MVP awards, in 1995, 1996 and 1997, and no other player has won three in a row. In that stretch he led the Packers to a win in Super Bowl XXXI, the first Green Bay championship since Super Bowl II. Fans who want the head-to-head with Rodgers and Starr can find it in the quarterback ranking.

What people forget

Favre did not start his career in Green Bay. The Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the second round in 1991, he saw little action as a rookie, and the Packers got him a year later for a first-round pick.

4. Reggie White (1993 to 1998)

In 1993, White became the first big-name free agent to switch teams, leaving the Eagles after 124 sacks in 121 games. He signed with Green Bay, and the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season with the top-ranked defense in the NFL. In that game he recorded three sacks, a Super Bowl record.

White made the Pro Bowl in all six of his Packers seasons, added 68.5 sacks, and was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 1998. When he retired, his 198 career sacks were an NFL record. He ranks fourth because he spent only six seasons in Green Bay, and the three players above him did more over longer runs.

What people forget

White was an ordained minister, and the nickname “Minister of Defense” goes back to his college days at Tennessee.

5. Bart Starr (1956 to 1971)

Starr won five NFL championships as the Packers’ starting quarterback, which was a record when he finished. He was the league MVP in 1966 and the MVP of Super Bowls I and II. His quarterback sneak beat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 Ice Bowl, one of the most famous plays in football history.

Starr threw for 24,718 yards in 16 seasons, a modest total by today’s standards, and the championships carry his case. More on how he stacks up is in the Packers quarterback debate.

What people forget

Starr was the 200th player picked in 1956, a 17th-round selection, and he took over as the starter in 1959 after Vince Lombardi pulled Lamar McHan.

6. Ray Nitschke (1958 to 1972)

Nitschke’s father was killed when he was three, and his mother died when he was 13. An older brother stepped in, and Ray grew up in a tough neighborhood outside Chicago.

The Packers drafted him in 1958, and he spent all 15 of his seasons in Green Bay at linebacker, wearing number 66 after his rookie year. He was the heart of Lombardi’s defense and the MVP of the 1962 NFL Championship Game, a 16 to 7 win over the Giants. He also finished with 25 career interceptions, a big number for a middle linebacker.

What people forget

Baseball’s St. Louis Browns wanted Nitschke as a player. He took a football scholarship to Illinois instead.

7. Charles Woodson (2006 to 2012)

Woodson won the 1997 Heisman Trophy at Michigan and spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders. The Packers signed him in 2006, and he played seven seasons in Green Bay at cornerback, nickel back and safety.

His best year was 2009, when he intercepted nine passes, returned three of them for touchdowns, and was named AP Defensive Player of the Year. A year later he won Super Bowl XLV. His 13 career defensive touchdowns are tied for the most in NFL history, and he went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

What people forget

Woodson spent his first 14 NFL seasons at cornerback and his last four at safety.

8. Jim Taylor (1958 to 1966)

The 1962 NFL Championship Game was Taylor’s day. Playing in the cold at Yankee Stadium against a Giants defense led by Sam Huff, he carried 31 times for 85 yards and scored the Packers’ only touchdown in a 16 to 7 win.

That same season he led the league with 1,474 rushing yards and was the AP’s choice as NFL MVP. He ran for more than 1,000 yards in five straight seasons, from 1960 to 1964, and he did it as a fullback in an offense built around the power run.

What people forget

When Taylor retired, only the great Jim Brown had more career rushing yards. Taylor finished with 8,597 and played his last season in 1967 with the expansion New Orleans Saints.

9. Willie Davis (1960 to 1969)

The Cleveland Browns played Davis at several positions, then traded him to Green Bay in 1960. The Packers made him a defensive end, and he anchored Lombardi’s defensive line through five NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls.

He made five straight Pro Bowls and went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981. After football he became a businessman, owning radio stations and serving on corporate boards.

What people forget

The NFL did not keep official sack totals while Davis played. Unofficial counts put his career total above 100.

10. Forrest Gregg (1956 to 1970)

Gregg finished his career in Dallas. After 1970 he left Green Bay for the Cowboys, and in 1971 he won Super Bowl VI, his third Super Bowl ring and his sixth NFL title.

In Green Bay he played mostly right tackle and filled in at guard when the line needed him. He went to nine Pro Bowls, made All-NFL eight years in a row from 1960 to 1967, and was named to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team. Packers.com calls him the most decorated offensive lineman Lombardi ever had.

What people forget

Gregg set a team record for consecutive games played, and it stood until Brett Favre passed it in 2003. He missed 1957 while serving in the military.

Just off the list

Paul Hornung and Herb Adderley are the two hardest names to leave out. Both are Hall of Famers from the Lombardi years, and either one could swap in for the bottom of this list on a different day.

The verdict

Hutson sits first because the receiver position starts with him, and Rodgers and Favre follow because quarterbacks decide games more than anyone else. The Lombardi years and the defense both fill a lot of the list, and I would not talk anyone out of a different order.

Nine of these players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and you can test yourself on them with the Hall of Famers quiz. The Packers trivia hub has more quizzes, and the Packers trivia book has the stories and fun facts behind the names.