2021 Fantasy Preview – Green Bay Packers

Team Overview

The Green Bay Packers have been one game away from the Super Bowl back to back years. Despite investing minimally in the offensive side of the ball during the 2020 off-season, they finished the season with the exact same record and result as the year before. It appears like the team is reloaded and ready to go with a majority of their key players returning for another run in 2021… except for Aaron Rodgers. After years of Rodgers asking the organization to invest in the offensive side of the ball, they finally listened, investing 2 early picks in the offensive line and bringing in third-round rookie Amari Rodgers. But their efforts might be too little too late after picking Jordan Love in the first round and AJ Dillon in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, two positions that were not big needs on that side of the ball. 

The season looks to hinge on Rodgers’ decision to return, otherwise, the keys of the kingdom will be handed to second-year quarterback Jordan Love. The move to Love will be a bit earlier than the organization hoped, but it may be their best option. If it is Jordan Love, it is an obvious downgrade from Aaron Rodgers even at this stage in his career. If Rodgers does decide to make a return, they are real Super Bowl contenders as they have been in the past couple of years.

2021 Fantasy Preview Green Bay Packers- Projected Depth Chart

Individual Players

Studs

  • Davante Adams: Davante is one of the lone quarterback-proof players in this offense. The only thing that will hold Adams back is potential injuries, otherwise, he will be a WR1 regardless of Rodgers’ decision. Although, if it isn’t Rodgers throwing him the ball, he probably falls out of the top 3 WR potential. This is due to fewer scoring opportunities for the entire offense as well as lower quality of targets. Adams should still demand enough target volume as the alpha in the offense to be a WR1 as long as he stays healthy. 
  • Aaron Rodgers: This of course all hinges upon Rodgers deciding to come back to the Packers this season. Assuming he stays with the Packers, it’s wheels up for him. He’s been a top 10 QB every year he has played 16 games, being a top 3 QB more often than not. Despite his age, he is still a savvy enough player to excel. In addition to his weapons last season, the team invested a third-round pick in Amari Rodgers who should have a role early on in this offense. Expect Rodgers to be a locked-in QB1 for this season. 
  • Aaron Jones: Jones has been a top 5 RB the past two seasons and earned himself a solid payday to stay with the Packers. He’s effective in both the running and passing game with a nose for the endzone. If Rodgers doesn’t make a return, those scoring opportunities will decrease and potentially drop Jones a few spots. But regardless, Jones has a low-end RB1 floor based on his talent alone.

Role Players

  • Robert Tonyan: Robert Tonyan broke out out of nowhere last season. His year was buoyed heavily by his 11 touchdown catches. He is one player that really relies on the Rodgers decision as those touchdowns will be hard to replicate with a different quarterback at the helm. Regardless, he showed what he is capable of, demanding the attention of fantasy managers. Especially so at a position devoid of consistent options outside of the top few players.

Keep an eye on

  • AJ Dillon: Dillon showed flashes of why he was taken in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft last season. That being said, it was a curious decision the organization made to bring Dillon on board when they brought Jones back on a long-term contract this past offseason. He holds handcuff value, but not much after that in standalone value. He should eat into Jones’ workload a bit and acquire some of the workload Jamaal Williams left behind, but it’ll be hard to rely on that volume for fantasy production outside of deeper leagues. He is a decent dynasty stash as Jones isn’t getting younger and Dillon could start taking on more of the workload as the seasons go by. 
  • Amari Rodgers: The Green Bay offense has been looking for a solid second option at the wide receiver position for some time now. Names like Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Equanimeous St. Brown, and Allen Lazard haven’t been able to provide that whether it was due to play on the field or not being able to stay on the field. Amari Rodgers should compete for a starting role right away in the slot. He provides Aaron Rodgers a different type of receiver than what Adams, Lazard, and MVS provide, bringing YAC-ability in the short and intermediate passing game. He’s a player to keep an eye on and definitely a player to stash in dynasty leagues.

Dynasty Stashes

  • Kylin Hill: Hill was a highly thought of running back prospect by many in the draft community. NFL teams didn’t seem to think the same way since he wasn’t selected until the 7th round. On top of that, he was selected to a team that doesn’t have a big need for running backs. Hill is a deep dynasty stash as no one knows what could happen. Hill could find himself on another roster with better opportunity at some point either via trade or roster moves. This is a stash based on talent, not situation. But a lot would need to happen for Hill to gain significant opportunity to make him fantasy relevant. 

***Note: All projections and discussions are assuming full PPR formats.***

2021 Fantasy Preview Green Bay Packers- Stat Projections

Passing

Player Name Pos Comp Att Yards TDs INTs
Aaron Rodgers
QB
361
513
4,284
37
5
Jordan Love
QB
15
21
178
2
1

Receiving

Player Name Pos Targets Rec Yards Yds/Rec TDs
Davante Adams
WR
160
112
1,322
11.8
15
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
WR
80
48
782
16.3
5
Robert Tonyan
TE
80
63
662
10.5
6
Amari Rodgers
WR
59
41
537
13.1
5
Aaron Jones
RB
64
45
396
8.8
2
Allen Lazard
WR
37
30
393
13.1
3
AJ Dillon
RB
11
9
70
7.8
1

Rushing

Player Name Pos Att Yards Yds/Att TDs
Aaron Jones
RB
218
1,022
4.7
11
AJ Dillon
RB
174
783
4.5
7
Aaron Rodgers
QB
22
117
5.4
2
Jordan Love
QB
13
38
2.9
0

***Note Player Projections are only fantasy relevant players. Team totals may not add up as we left out players that may not have a significant impact on the season. Projections provided by Rich King and are based on 16 games.***

Team Projection

Record HC OC
11-6
Matt LeFleur
Nathaniel Hackett
Rushing Att Rushing Yards Rushing TDs Passing Att Passing Yards Passing TDs Total Yards Total TDs
436
1,997
20
534
4,462
39
6,459
59
21st
17th
3rd
25th
13th
1st
12th
1st

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Image Credit: Brad Rempel – USA TODAY Sports