The Green Bay Packers’ No. 73 has never been one of the franchise’s deep, star-packed numbers. There are a few familiar names, a Hall of Famer in the mix, and a couple of strong candidates, but the choice here lands on the player who gave Green Bay the longest and steadiest run at the spot: Daryn Colledge.
That said, the number has had some notable wearers. The list includes Ken Beck, Byron Braggs, David Caldwell, Gus Cifelli, Andre Dillard, Earl Edwards, Jahri Evans, Ron Gassert, Buckets Goldenberg, Kevin Hardy, John McDowell, Keith McKenzie, Yosh Nijman, Carleton Oats, Steve Okoniewski, Tootie Robbins, Wash Serini, Gerald Skinner, Aaron Taylor, J.C. Tretter, Vern Vanoy, Alan Veingrad, Jim Weatherwax and John Williams.
Buckets Goldenberg is the lone Packers Hall of Famer among them, but he was ruled out because he wore No. 73 for only one of his 13 seasons in Green Bay. Aaron Taylor also got serious consideration after the Packers made him the No. 16 overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft.
He started all 53 games he played in the regular season and postseason, including Green Bay’s Super Bowl 31 win over the New England Patriots and its Super Bowl 32 loss to the Denver Broncos. Still, his Packers stay lasted just three seasons, so he came up short too.
That leaves Colledge, and his case is built on durability and consistency. A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, he later moved to North Pole, the town with the unusual name, and earned All-State honors at North Pole High as a defensive lineman. At Boise State, he shifted to the offensive line, became a four-year starter and picked up two All-WAC selections.
Green Bay drafted him in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft with the 47th overall pick after a strong NFL Scouting Combine. His overall score of 81 ranked sixth among all offensive linemen, and his selection made a bit of draft history: no player born in Alaska had ever gone that high before.
Since then, only Tyree Wilson has gone higher, going seventh overall to the New Orleans Saints in 2023. His path, though, is different, since he was born in Anchorage in 2000 and moved to Texas in 2002.
Colledge played tackle at Boise State, but Green Bay moved him to left guard during his first training camp. He started all but one game as a rookie and went on to become a dependable piece of the Packers’ offensive line during the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers.
Over five seasons in Green Bay, he never missed a game and started all but four of the 87 games he played in the regular season and postseason. His final Packers game was the Super Bowl 45 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He finished his career with three seasons for the Arizona Cardinals and one more with the Miami Dolphins.
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