Welcome back to the countdown of the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every number from No. 0 through No. 99. We’ve made it deep into the 90s now, and No. 95 brings a short list with few true standouts.
The Packers have cycled through a handful of players at the number over the years: Tony Degrate, Howard Green, Datone Jones, Tyler Lancaster, Keith McKenzie, Daniel Muir, Bryce Paup, Carl Sullivan, Rod Walker, Steve Warren and Devonte Wyatt.
That group isn’t exactly packed with top-tier production, and the clearest alternative to the top spot here would be Datone Jones. He spent four seasons in Green Bay from 2013 to 2016, appearing in 67 games across the regular season and postseason, starting seven of them, and putting up 81 total tackles and 9.5 sacks.
Still, the choice at No. 95 is Bryce Paup, and it’s not much of a debate.
A sixth-round pick out of the University of Northern Iowa in the 1990 NFL Draft, Paup went 159th overall to Green Bay and took a little time to get going. As a rookie, he played in just five games and mostly worked on special teams. By his second year, he was only starting once, but he had become a much bigger part of the linebacker mix and finished with 7.5 sacks, second on the team behind Tony Bennett’s 13.0.
The production kept climbing from there. In 1992, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Paup made 10 starts and again settled in behind Bennett in sacks with 6.5.
Then came his breakout in 1993, when he notched 11.0 sacks, once more finishing second on the Packers, this time behind Reggie White’s 13.0. He added another sack in the playoffs.
Paup was overlooked for the Pro Bowl that season, but he did get there in 1994 after another strong year. He posted 7.5 sacks, set a career high with three interceptions, and returned one for a touchdown. In the postseason, he chipped in two more sacks and another interception.
That 1994 season turned out to be his last in Green Bay. The Packers didn’t even make him a contract offer in free agency, and then-GM Ron Wolf later called that a mistake.
Paup signed with the Buffalo Bills and immediately made the Packers look like they had let a major talent walk. He piled up a career-best 17.5 sacks, earned a second straight Pro Bowl trip, landed First-Team All-Pro honors and won Defensive Player of the Year. He added Pro Bowl selections in each of the next two seasons with Buffalo before finishing his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars and, finally, the Minnesota Vikings.
In five seasons with the Packers, Paup produced 225 total tackles, 32.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and four interceptions. That’s enough to make him the clear answer at No. 95.
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Kevin Zeitler is part of the reason there is cautious optimism about the line holding up long enough for that momentum to last. With Jayden Reed still out and the offensive front needing to stay healthy, the Packers aerial surge feels promising, but it also comes with the familiar caveat that everything changes fast if protection starts to slip or more pieces have to be shuffled again. [Read more 🡒]