The Green Bay Packers have what many consider to be the best quarterback in the league in Aaron Rodgers and with that comes Super Bowl expectations and after getting beat in the playoffs last season by the San Francisco 49ers, the team is ready to get back to the championship.
Rodgers had another great season in 2012 fantasy wise and he should be considered the best or second best option at quarterback with Drew Brees. Rodgers threw for over 4,200 yards last season with 39 touchdowns and completed over 67 percent of his passes and projections have him topping those numbers in 2013. Even though the Packers lost Greg Jennings in free agency to the Vikings, a receiver Rodgers has been very comfortable with, the offense still should have plenty of firepower at the position with James Jones, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb taking on more responsibility.
The Packers have been one of the most unbalanced teams in the league over the past few years after not being able to have a consistent running game, but the team drafted Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin to join Alex Green and James Starks and coach Mike McCarthy is planning on utilizing the ground game more often. Rodgers will still have plenty of opportunities to air it out and he had some monster games last season, including a six touchdown game against the Texans that also saw him throw for 338 yards. Rodgers also threw just eight interceptions last season and zero over the final four games.
The Packers open the season the way they did last season with a game against the 49ers and that also happens to be the team that defeated them in the playoffs last season. Rodgers opened the year with a very nice game of 303 yards and two touchdowns in the opening loss and in the playoffs he had 257 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Packers could end up losing three straight games to the 49ers if they lose in Week 1 and Rodgers obviously will be a big part of that.
James, Cobb and Nelson are all excellent fantasy options and James is coming off of a breakout season after making 64 receptions for 784 yards and a staggering 14 touchdowns. While it is unlikely that he will put up those same touchdown numbers again, he is taking a bigger role in the offense and should improve on the receptions and yards. Cobb and Nelson are coming off some injuries, but Cobb looks ready to have another big season after he broke out with 80 catches with 954 yards and eight touchdown. Cobb is also valuable as a special teams player and he also sometimes even rushes the ball, going for 20-plus yards twice last season.
The running game is a toss up, so any draft of a running back from the Packers needs at least one handcuff with Eddie Lacy being the primary option. Alex Green should get some carries along with Jonathan Franklin and Mike McCarthy also liked DuJuan Harris and James Starks. The team is putting an emphasis on running the ball more to get the offense more consistent.
