Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/USA Today Sports Images)

All-Favre and Rodgers Team Blows Up Receiver Narrative

“The All-Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers team” published by Packers Wire shows the abundance of talent at receiver over the last three decades.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 9, 2023 5:02 PM EDT

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Earlier this week, Zach Kruse published the “The All-Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers team” for Packers Wire. It was a great idea, and I was happy to be one of its many selectors.

At receiver, Kruse sought the top five who caught passes for Brett Favre (1992 through 2007) and/or Aaron Rodgers (2008 through 2022). What an embarrassment of riches, and one that thoroughly destroyed the narrative that the Packers hadn’t given their quarterbacks enough help at receiver because they hadn’t used a first-round pick at the position since the Jurassic.

Kruse’s panel landed on a top six of:

- Davante Adams, who led the NFL in yards per game in 2020 and earned five consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2017 through 2021. He trails only Don Hutson in Packers history with 73 touchdown catches.

- Sterling Sharpe, who led the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdowns in 1992 and was a three-time All-Pro in his six seasons. His 72.6 receiving yards per game ranks No. 1 in franchise history.

- Jordy Nelson, who was only a one-time Pro Bowler despite finishing third in touchdown catches in 2011, second in 2014 and first in 2016. Rodgers won MVP the first two seasons.

- Donald Driver, who was a three-time Pro Bowler and a 1,000-yard receiver six consecutive seasons from 2004 through 2009. He is the franchise leader with 743 receptions for 10,137 yards.

- Antonio Freeman, who was an All-Pro in 1998, when he led the NFL in receiving yards and receiving yards per game as part of a run of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

- Greg Jennings, who topped 1,100 yards three consecutive seasons and 900 yards five consecutive seasons. He caught 12 touchdowns from Favre in 2007 and 12 from Rodgers in 2010.

That’s a great of a group. No wonder Kruse added Jennings as a sixth receiver. You also could make a good group from the receivers who didn’t make the list.

- In 1995, Robert Brooks caught 102 passes for 1,497 yards and 13 touchdowns. In franchise history, those figures rank sixth, third and eighth, respectively. If only he wouldn’t have suffered a major knee injury in 1996.

- The Packers haven’t selected a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. In 2004, he caught 89 passes for 1,382 yards. The yardage figure was eighth-best in franchise history. If only he wouldn’t have suffered a major knee injury in 2005.

- Following a second tour of duty with the Packers, Randall Cobb left Green Bay ranked fifth with 532 receptions, 11th with 6,316 yards and 10th with 47 touchdowns.

- Following his second stint with the team, James Jones finished 11th with 360 receptions, 14th with 5,195 yards and 11th with 45 touchdowns.

What a brilliant group. The 2011 team, which led the NFL in scoring behind a ridiculous 5,161 passing yards, had Cobb as the No. 5 receiver. Imagine being a defensive coordinator having to get ready for Nelson, Jennings, Jones, Driver and Cobb (and tight end Jermichael Finley).

Certainly, you could argue that general manager Brian Gutekunst did a disservice to Rodgers by largely ignoring the receiver position after drafting Adams in the second round in 2014.

In the six drafts from 2015 through 2020, 75 receivers were selected in the first three rounds. The Packers were one of eight teams to draft just one during those first two days of selections. From that group, only the Packers (Ty Montgomery, whose major impact came at running back), Lions (Kenny Golladay) and Buccaneers (Chris Godwin) made their lone selection in the third round.

In dire need of a rebuild, premium picks were used on third-round bust Amari Rodgers in 2021, potential second-round star Christian Watson in 2022 and second-round rookie Jayden Reed in 2023 the last three years.

In case you were wondering, my ballot had Adams first, Sharpe second, Driver third and Nelson fourth. For the fifth and final spot, I took Brooks over Jennings (and Freeman).