Packers Lead Way in PFF’s Top 50 Players of 2021

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Stars win games. The ProFootballFocus.com list of the NFL’s top 50 players, which concluded on Friday with the revealing of the top 10, shows why the Green Bay Packers won so many games in 2020.

By PFF’s judgment, four of the league’s top 15 players are members of the Packers. That’s the most in the NFL; the Chiefs have four of the top 19. Green Bay has the top player at three positions.

All-Pro receiver Davante Adams topped the list of Packers, checking in at No. 5 overall and No. 1 among receivers.

“No receiver was as productive on a per snap basis as Adams was in 2020. Very few were even particularly close, as his 2.96 yards per route run was 0.3 more than the next-best receiver,” PFF’s Sam Monson wrote. “Adams caught 78.8 of the passes thrown his way with just one drop all season — the other incompletions were off-target throws, pass breakups or other incompletions. Adams is one of the best route-runners in the game but showed last season that he could make the same claim about virtually all other aspects of the position.”

Reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers is No. 10 overall and behind only Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (No. 2) and Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady (No. 7) among quarterbacks. It was a vintage season for Rodgers, who has made a living making big plays while avoiding big mistakes. According to Monson, Rodgers was No. 1 in big-time throw percentage and No. 2 in turnover-worthy plays.

All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander is No. 14 overall and No. 1 among cornerbacks. Alexander and the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey are the only corners in the top 28. According to PFF, he allowed 20 or fewer yards in 11 of 18 total games. In the final four games, he allowed six completions for 33 yards.

All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari is No. 15 overall and the only offensive tackle in the top 23. Monson called Bakhtiari “the gold standard in pass blocking at the position since the retirement of future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas. Bakhtiari has generated PFF pass-blocking grades of at least 91.6 in four of the past five seasons despite blocking for a quarterback who typically holds the ball longer than most. This past year, he allowed just nine total pressures in the 12 games he played.”

Adams, Rodgers, Alexander and Bakhtiari are the only Packers in the PFF50, which is a forward-looking projection to the upcoming season and not a list based solely on last year’s production. Positions are treated equally and not slanted toward premium positions such as quarterback.

CLICK HERE for the full PFF50.