As seasons for the Green Bay Packers pass us by, it is easy to forget the players that used to wear the green and gold. In the short term, it is hard to forget about the greatness displayed by Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, Clay Matthews, and Aaron Rodgers, to name a few. But one name in particular that is a blast from the past that it is worthy of putting more respect on? Wide receiver Antonio Freeman.
A third-round selection by the team in the 1995 NFL Draft, Freeman would go on to play eight seasons in Green Bay (1995-2001, 2003) and one season in Philadelphia with the Eagles (2002). Freeman did not make any sort of impact in his rookie season with the Packers, only registering eight receptions (12 targets) for 106 yards and one touchdown in 11 games. He started all 12 games that he appeared in the following season and made the most out of his opportunities. He led the team in receiving yards (933), targets (107), and receptions (56), and finished ninth in the NFL – second on the team – in receiving touchdowns (9). In the team’s Super Bowl XXXI victory over the New England Patriots that season, he paced all wide receivers with 105 yards and one touchdown, including an 81-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter that showcased his breakaway speed. The score would put the Packers ahead for good.
Freeman followed up the 1996 season with a season-long performance in 1997 that put him in the conversation as one of the top-tier receivers in the league. He finished eight in receptions (81), seventh in yards (1,243), and second in touchdowns (12). He also registered nine receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s Super Bowl XXXII loss to the Denver Broncos. Freeman’s yardage sits in third among the most receiving yards by a Packer wide receiver in a Super Bowl (Jordy Nelson, 140; Max McGee, 138).
How did Freeman respond in 1998? With a career year. The Virginia Tech product earned first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after leading the league in yards (1,424) and finishing fifth in receptions (84) and second in touchdowns (14). In 1999, he once again led the team in receiving yards (1,074) – the fourth season in a row he paced the team in receiving yards – and touchdowns (6). He then led the team in touchdowns in 2000 with nine, marking the fourth-straight season he was atop the list of the team’s pass catchers in that department.
Of course, I cannot bring up the 2000 season without mentioning his Monday Night Miracle in Week 10 victory against the Minnesota Vikings, a play that earned Freeman the 2001 ESPY for Most Spectacular Play of the Year. “Touchdown! He did what?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhhZOTm0TQY
Freeman, who celebrated his 51st birthday last month, currently sits sixth in receiving touchdowns in team history (57), seventh in games played among wide receivers (116), eighth in receiving yards (6,651), and ninth in receptions (10).