Fantasy Draft or Pass: Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Last season, the Green Bay Packers finished 15th in scoring, 18th in total offense and 23rd in third-down efficiency. Not coincidentally, Aaron Rodgers was 12th in passer rating and 21st in completion percentage.
Great, but how did he do in fantasy football? Last season, Rodgers recorded 278 fantasy points. That’s 104 points less than in 2016, when Rodgers powered Green Bay’s running of the table with a dominant second half of the season, 80 points less than in 2014, when he won his second MVP, and 121 points less than in 2011, when he won his first MVP.
As SI.com fantasy expert Jamie Eisner wrote:
He finished as the QB11 in total points, but was the QB15 on a per-game basis, behind players like Matthew Stafford (injury), Drew Brees (injury), Ryan Tannehill (didn't start until Week 7) and Daniel Jones (didn't start until Week 3). With those four players back healthy and starting Week 1, along with the returning Ben Roethlisberger and newly-drafted Joe Burrow, it's not unfair to question Rodgers' status as a QB1—especially given all the other distractions that now surround him in Green Bay.
Can the 36-year-old Rodgers round into elite form? From a passing-game perspective, the Packers’ biggest additions were receiver Devin Funchess, who missed almost all of last season with a broken collarbone and averaged only 566 receiving yards in four full seasons, and tight end Josiah Deguara, a third-round draft pick. However, a second year under coach Matt LaFleur should benefit Rodgers, in particular, and the offense, as a whole.
“I like where we’re at,” Rodgers said on Friday. “What we accomplished last year was pretty amazing. We’re going to be expecting those young players, whether they’re rookies or second- or third-year guys, to make that jump and we’re going to be calling on them to play an even bigger role for us.”
