86 #DaysToFootball

Two participants in the first Super Bowl grace today's installment, including the third member of the '60s Packers in the last four days:

5. Gary Collins, WR/P
1962-1971 (Cleveland); Two Pro Bowls; NFL All-1960s Team; 70 career receiving touchdowns

(Marvin M. Greene/Cleveland Plain Dealer)

In the run-heavy NFL during the 1960s, few flankers were as productive as Cleveland's Gary Collins. The Maryland alum, who chose the Browns over the AFL's Patriots after being a first-round selection in both league's 1962 drafts, caught at least 10 scores four different times in his career. Collins' finest season as a pass-catcher was in 1966, when he caught 56 balls for 946 yards and 12 touchdowns in his second straight Pro Bowl effort. The two-position player also was the primary punter during his time in Cleveland; he led the NFL in yards per punt the following year with 46.7 on a career-high 65 kicks. Collins is, to date, the last Browns player to win a championship MVP award, catching three touchdown passes in a 27-0 rout of the Colts in 1964.

4. Boyd Dowler, WR
1959-1971 (Green Bay, Washington); Two Pro Bowls; NFL All-1960s Team; 7,270 career receiving yards


Five-time NFL champion Boyd Dowler caught just 45 touchdowns in an 11-year career for a team known for running the ball with the Packer sweep. Two of those scores came in Green Bay's 21-17 victory in the Ice Bowl against Dallas. While Bart Starr's game-winning sneak has been the indelible moment of the 1967 NFL Championship, just as important to Green Bay's third straight championship win was the contribution of the Packers Hall of Fame member. The Wyoming native was Starr's primary target throughout his Packer career, gaining a career-high 901 yards in 1963. Like Collins, Dowler also spent time as a punter. Dowler's punting career lasted just three seasons, however; after 1962 he was used as a punter just once in the final nine years of his career.

3. Stanley Morgan, WR
1977-1990 (New England, Indianapolis); Four Pro Bowls; 10,716 career receiving yards

(Otto Gruele Jr./Getty)

For the first 10 years of his career, former Tennessee Volunteer Stanley Morgan averaged 20 yards per reception as New England's most prolific pass-catcher. From 1979-1981 no one in the NFL gained more yards per catch than Morgan; he was rewarded with two Pro Bowl appearances during that stretch. Morgan was Super Bowl XX's leading receiver in terms of passes caught; his 51 yards led the severely over-matched Patriots in that game. Following a losing effort to the Bears, Morgan finished his next two seasons in the Pro Bowl. His 1,491 receiving yards in 1986 were a career high for the veteran wideout. After completing his Patriots career in 1989, Morgan spent one year with the Colts before calling it quits for good. Morgan remains New England's all-time leading receiver and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2007.

2. Hines Ward, WR
1998-2011 (Pittsburgh); Four Pro Bowls; Super Bowl XL MVP; 12,083 career receiving yards



Former Georgia Bulldog Hines Ward helped transform the Steelers from a run-first offense into one that relies on the passing game. Pittsburgh's all-time leading receiver was one of the league's best pass catchers in the first half of the '00s, earning all four of his Pro Bowl invitations consecutively from 2001-2004. The following year Ward gained 123 yards and scored the game-clinching touchdown in Super Bowl XL en route to becoming just the fifth wide receiver to earn the game's MVP honor. By the end of his 14-year career Ward had played in more games for the Steelers than any player not named Mike Webster. After his 2011 retirement, the versatile Ward won the 12th season of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars."

1. Buck Buchanan, DT
1963-1975 (Kansas City); Eight Pro Bowls; Four First-Team All-Pro; Pro Football HOF class of 1990

(James Flores/NFL Photos)

Buck Buchanan was the most dominating defensive lineman on the American Football League's most dominating team. The 1963 AFL draft's first selection never missed a game in his 13-year Chiefs career and was named all-AFL in each of the final four years before the merger. He unofficially recorded one sack in each of the Chiefs' two Super Bowl appearances, including a Super Bowl IV performance in which his defense allowed the Vikings to score just seven points. Buchanan was still one of the best defensive tackles in football after Kansas City joined the NFL; he earned his last two Pro Bowl honors in 1970 and 1971. Buchanan is the only member of today's list to have his number retired, as well as the only 86 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.