The Green Bay Packers will kickoff their 2023 season 91 days from now against the Chicago Bears. In celebration of a new era of Packers football and in anticipation for the upcoming season, Wisconsin Sports Heroics will present the top 100 players in franchise history in the 100 days leading up to the start of the regular season. Our rankings are based on Pro Football References Approximate Value stat, which gives a numeric value to each season a player plays in.
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Green Bay Packers Greatest Player #91: Ron Kostelnik
Is #91 too low for a player who shares that NFL record for most NFL Championship wins among defensive linemen? It could be, but as noted above, this is based on AV from Pro Football Reference. As such, #91 goes to defensive lineman Ron Kostelnik, who was one of the mainstays of the Vince Lombardi defenses that won five NFL Championships, including Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II.
Kostelnik was drafted by the Packers in the second round (26th overall pick) of the 1961 NFL Draft. He was simultaneously drafted in the 14th round (108th overall pick) of the 1961 AFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Of course, he ended up playing for the Packers as one of the unheralded members of a dominant defensive line that included Henry Jordan and Willie Davis.
Of Kostelnik, Jerry Kramer once said: “There aren’t statistics for steady dependable guys who plug up the middle and allow other guys to excel. But that’s what Ron did.” After his playing career was over, Kostelnik remained in Wisconsin and became the Chief Executive Officer of Mainline Industrial Distributors in Appleton.
Unfortunately, Kostelnik suffered a fatal heart attack while driving back home to Wisconsin from a vacation in Florida back in 1993. He was just 53 years old.
Green Bay Packers Greatest Players List
- #100- Daryn Colledge
- #99- Mike Butler
- #98- Bernardo Harris
- #97- Tyrone Williams
- #96- Dick Himes
- #95- Mason Crosby
- #94- Mike McCoy
- #93- Gilbert Brown
- #92- Ryan Pickett
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