The Aaron Rodgers era in Green Bay was a dominant one for the Packers offense. Between 2008, his first season as a starter, and 2022, his last, the Packers scored 6,365 points (third-most) and 755 touchdowns (third-most) and averaged 5.71 yards per play (fourth-best).
Rodgers, a future Hall of Famer who was traded to the New York Jets in April, was the linchpin of it all, but even the best quarterbacks get massive amounts of help from the 10 teammates around them on every snap.
The Packers had no shortage of elite players during the Rodgers era.
Here’s the most dominant season by a Packers player at each offensive position from the Rodgers era:
Quarterback
Player, season: Aaron Rodgers, 2011
His 2020 and 2014 MVP seasons are close runner ups, but Rodgers was mostly unstoppable during a nearly perfect 2011 season. The Packers were 14-1 in his 15 starts, and Rodgers led the NFL in touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating and QBR. He threw 45 touchdowns against just six interceptions and averaged almost 310 passing yards per game, and his 122.5 passer rating is still the NFL record. Over 15 starts, Rodgers had 10 games with at least three touchdown passes and a passer rating over 100.0.
Running back
Player, season: Aaron Jones, 2019
Jones scored 19 total touchdowns and finished with 1,558 total yards (second-most of Aaron Rodgers era) on just 285 total touches in the regular season. He scored multiple rushing touchdowns in six games, including a four-score bonanza vs. the Cowboys in Dallas. Against the Chiefs, Jones caught seven passes for a career-high 159 yards and two scores. Over two playoff games, Jones scored four more times, giving him 23 in 18 total games.
Wide receiver
Player, season: Davante Adams, 2020
Despite missing two games, Adams caught a league-high 18 touchdown passes, led the NFL in receiving yards per game (98.1) and was named a first-team All-Pro. He caught a career-high 77.2 percent of his targets and averaged a career-best 9.2 yards per target. Adams had 11 games with a touchdown catch, seven with 100 or more yards and five with 10 or more catches. Adams’ 2021 season and Jordy Nelson’s 2014 season are both in the running here.
Tight end
Player, season: Robert Tonyan, 2020
Jermichael Finley’s 2011 season has a case here, and Finley’s 2010 season would have blown everyone out of the water had he not gotten hurt after four games, but it’s hard to argue with Tonyan’s incredible efficiency in 2020. He caught 88.1 percent of his targets, averaged 9.9 yards per target and scored 11 touchdowns on just 59 targets. Tonyan should have been a Pro Bowler.
Offensive tackle
Player, season: David Bakhtiari, 2017
Bakhtiari provided plenty of options here, but it’s hard to argue with his 2017 season, which represents the highest-graded pass-blocking season from an offensive lineman of the PFF era. Bakhtiari gave up only 12 pressures and just one sack while committing two penalties, and he was a dominant blocker in what PFF calls “true pass sets,” or snaps in only true drop-back passing situations.
Offensive guard
Player, season: Josh Sitton, 2014
Per PFF, Sitton’s 2013 and 2014 seasons represent the highest-graded pass-blocking seasons from a guard in the site’s history. The left guard was truly dominant in 2014, allowing just 10 total pressures (and zero sacks) over 618 pass-blocking snaps. His pass-blocking grades were 80.0 or higher in 13 of 16 games. Consistently elite play is the defining mark of a dominant season.
Center
Player, season: Corey Linsley, 2020
Linsley missed three games during the 2020 season, but he was a dominant player in the other 13, giving up just four total pressures and excelling as a run-blocker during a first-team All-Pro season. He allowed a pressure in just three of 13 games and had a run-blocking grade at PFF of 70.0 or higher in 10 of 13 games. It was his last season in Green Bay; Linsley signed with the Chargers following the 2020 season.
