Due in part to his injury, Levens was considered to be a marginal pick in the
1994 NFL draft, and
Mel Kiper Jr. labeled him the most overrated pick on the board. He was selected in the
fifth round (149th overall) by the
Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay Packers In his first two seasons with the Packers, Levens was primarily used as a fullback, winning the starting job in 1995. In 1996, he would play as back-up at halfback to starter
Edgar Bennett, with
William Henderson as the starter at fullback. In the 1996 NFC Championship game against the
Carolina Panthers, Levens had a breakout game, carrying the ball 10 times for 88 yards and caught 5 passes including the Packers' first touchdown on a contested 29-yarder in the endzone in the first quarter of the 30–13 win. In
Super Bowl XXXI, Levens was the Packers' leading rusher, carrying the ball 14 times for 61 yards, as the Packers won their first Super Bowl in 29 years, 35–21. In 1997, Levens became the starting halfback after Edgar Bennett tore his
achilles tendon in the 1997 pre-season. Levens rushed for over 1,400 yards and was voted to the
Pro Bowl. He broke his fibula during the
1998 season and was never the same. He was able to come back into the starting lineup late in the season, and showed some major flashes against the
San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, rushing 27 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 6 passes for 37 yards in a game that would later be dubbed
The Catch II after
Terrell Owens' last-second, game-winning touchdown catch. He gained 1,034 yards for the Packers in the
1999 season, but suffered a pair of knee injuries during the
2000 season, and was mostly used in a reserve role after
Ahman Green supplanted him as the starter. During the final game of the
1999 NFL season, Levens and the Packers were involved in what has been described as a
bizarre tie-breaking scenario, involving four teams that finished with 8–8 records fighting for two playoff spots. The two losers of the tie breaker would be eliminated. Going into their season finale against the
Arizona Cardinals, the Packers needed to win their game, as well as have the
Dallas Cowboys lose later that afternoon. In addition, the Packers also needed to win the net points scored tie-breaker vs. the
Carolina Panthers (who were facing the
New Orleans Saints). The Packers and Panthers were playing during the noon time slot and the Packers held a net 18 point advantage going into the day. As the games progressed, Carolina had built a sizable lead to the point that they were momentarily able to take the lead over the Packers in net points. Since both teams were neck and neck for the advantage in the tie breaker, both teams were frantically trying to score as many points as possible despite leading on the scoreboard by a blowout margin. The Cardinals and Saints also tried to score frantically as the game progressed to stop their opponents from gaining the net points advantage. Ultimately, the Packers prevailed in net points by +11. It was all for naught in the end, however, as the Cowboys won their afternoon contest against the
New York Giants to claim the final playoff spot and thus eliminate the Packers from playoff contention. Levens ran for 146 yards and scored four times during the contest. The Packers won their game 49–24 and the Panthers won their game 45–13. Levens was featured on the cover of
EA Sports Madden NFL 2000 in the
PAL editions. As a result, he is viewed as one of the first victims of the "
Madden Curse". Levens was released by the Packers after
2001. In 2009, he was inducted into the
Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
Later career During the
2002 season, Levens played for the
Philadelphia Eagles, replacing the injured
Correll Buckhalter, and in
2003, with the
New York Giants, both times as a backup. He was released by the Giants after 2003. After Buckhalter was again injured during the 2004
preseason, Levens was signed by the Eagles as a
free agent. He shared duties with
Brian Westbrook through the season, also appearing in
Super Bowl XXXIX that year. He retired during the 2006 offseason as a Green Bay Packer. ==NFL career statistics==