(WFRV) – 500 miles. A 7-hour, 30-minute drive. A 3-hour flight. That’s roughly the distance from Lambeau Field to just past the Kentucky state line. Two places now connected by one of the Green Bay Packers’ all-time greats and one of their newest additions.
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Almost everything about the NFL has changed from 1957 to 2026. The league has expanded by 20 teams, the Super Bowl didn’t yet exist, and today’s pass-first, scheme-heavy offense looks nothing like the ground-and-pound style of the late ’50s.
That contrast helps frame two draft picks separated by nearly seven decades.
In 1957, Green Bay selected Paul Hornung first overall, a versatile halfback who went on to win four NFL titles in Titletown. In 2026, the Packers turned to Jager Burton in the fifth round, an offensive lineman built for the modern game after five seasons at Kentucky and now tasked with protecting quarterback Jordan Love.
“I was talking about it yesterday how crazy it is to get to play for a prestigious organization as this. It almost feels like Green Bay created football”, Burton said after Friday’s first rookie minicamp practice. “Actually being here, it feels surreal. I’m super grateful.”
On the field, the two couldn’t be more different.
Hornung is a Packers Hall of Famer who spent nine seasons in Green Bay, compiling an MVP season in 1961, 50 career rushing touchdowns, and playing a key role in one of the most defining eras in franchise history. Burton, meanwhile, has yet to take an NFL snap and is just days removed from becoming a Packer.
One was a halfback. The other is an offensive lineman.
But they share two things: Kentucky roots and now, the same green and gold.
The connection runs deeper than the draft.
The Paul Hornung Award, presented annually by the Louisville Quarterback Club to Kentucky’s top high school football player, went to Burton in 2020–21 during his time at Frederick Douglass High School. It was one of several honors, including Co-Mr. Football and Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year, that helped establish him as the state’s top recruit in 2021.
While Burton’s position makes a Heisman Trophy run unlikely, no offensive lineman has ever won the award nor was it designed to, Hornung’s 1956 Heisman season remains one of the most versatile in college football history. He threw for 917 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for 420 yards and six scores, handled kick returns, kicked extra points, and contributed on defense.
Hornung, who passed away in 2020 at age 84, left a lasting legacy rooted in Kentucky and, unexpectedly, is now tied to Burton’s life.
Hornung was close friends with Burton’s next-door neighbor, Phil Block, a Lexington-based business owner whom Burton describes as a “second dad.” Years ago, Hornung gifted Block a Heisman ball, signed by past players during the award ceremony, and a watch.
Before Burton made the trip to Lambeau Field to begin what he hopes is a long NFL career, Block decided to pass those items on.
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Now, Paul Hornung’s Heisman ball and watch belong to Jager Burton, the Packers 2026 5th round draft pick. A bridge between past and present in Packers history.
“Super cool. Full circle moment. He wanted me to have it”, Burton expressed. “[Hornung] is from Louisville, so I grew up knowing about him and hearing about him. To win that award and have that item from him is pretty awesome.”
