Visualizing Donald Driver's Greatest Attribute

Donald Driver easily ranks among the greatest Packers of his era. His stats stand up with the greats at his position while his winning smile, explosive athleticism, and his graceful transition from go-to target to elder statesman in the locker room make him an easy favorite for fans.

But his greatest single attribute had to have been his longevity. Not only did he stay healthy for an incredibly long time, he was incredibly productive during that time as well, as you can see in the chart below.

This visualization charts the yards per catch average over the moving average of a given 16-game stretch of some of the Packers' greatest receivers.

That Driver played more than 200 games in his career is notable in and of itself, but his consistency during that stretch sets him apart.

In our data, Driver never attains the heights of James Lofton or Jordy Nelson, but once he finds his footing as an NFL player (around career game 30 or so), he just produces and produces and produces. He doesn’t begin his final decline until well after game 160, more than 10 full seasons into his NFL career.

There are lots of ways to categorize great players, but when it comes to Driver, looking at just how long he lasted as a productive member of the Packers truly shows what a productive player he was.