Welcome back to Blast from the Past. This series is all about fan favorites, hall of very good players, or players you personally loved from years gone by that you think possibly didn't get another credit.
Today I'm being selfish and talking about one of my all-time favorites. He's a Packer, he's a southerner, he's the 2nd best player to come from Alcorn State (Steve McNair), and he's got the best damn smile of all time. Of course if you know em, you love him, and if you don't know him, then by the end of this post you will.
Okay enough bullshit. Here's the story:
Donald Driver was a consistent receiver throughout his 14 year career with the Green Bay Packers. He wasn't flashy, big, fast, he was just consistently good and open. Maybe a modern comparison would be Golden Tate?
Coming out of Alcorn State, standing 6 foot nothing and weighing 195 pounds, Driver was selected in the 7th round of the 1999 draft, 213 overall, to the Green Bay Packers.
He lettered in both football and track & field. He finished his college football career at Alcorn State with 88 receptions for 1993 yards (19.69 yards per catch). He was a five-time "Athlete of the Year" in his conference for his track and football prowess.
He excelled in the high jump and earned all-conference honors his senior year. He leaped 2.30 meters in the high jump, 15.62 meters in the triple jump and 7.75 meters in the long jump.
Driver is also an Olympic-class high jumper, being able to jump 7 ft 6.5 in. He qualified for the 1996 Olympic Field Trials in the high jump.
In his first three years in the league, he saw limited playing time. Only posting 520 yards and 3 tds. In his 4th year in 2002 is when he had his breakout season. Hauling in his first 1,000 yard season with 1,064 on 70 catches and 9 tds.
This was the start of a great duo between him and Brett Favre. Between 2002-2007 the tandem combined for 466 catches, 6,457 yards, and 35 tds.
Known as one of the toughest wide receivers in the game, Driver had the most catches in the NFL in the middle of the field in 2006. Driver finished the 2006 season in the top five of the league in reception yardage with 1,295 yards. He also recorded the most receptions in his career with 92 of them, earning a spot in the 2007 Pro Bowl.
In the 2007 season, Driver caught the record breaking throw from Favre for the most passing yards all-time. In the NFC championship game of the same year, he set a franchise record of longest receiving td in Packer playoff history with a 90 yard scamper.
Driver is the Green Bay Packers all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards and is the only player in franchise history to record seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons.
On February 6, 2013, the Green Bay Packers hosted a public retirement ceremony for Driver. This was the first public retirement ceremony ever held for a Packers player.
A 3x pro bowl selection, Driver finished his career with 743 catches, 10,137 yards, and 61 tds. He has been inducted into the Packers HoF.
Thank you for reading this post. I'm bored in the off-season right now. If you got a player you want me to write about, shoot me a message. I take requests.
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