This just in: Aaron Rodgers is really, really good. Since Rodgers broke his collarbone, the Packers have looked like a completely different team. And that’s not a compliment.
Packer players are all now risky fantasy football starters, and it’s hard to determine where to rank them each week. Let’s look at the star players and how they’re faring without Rodgers.
Brett Hundley
Brett Hundley is now the starting quarterback, and so far his performances have been underwhelming. Here are his stats since he took over:
Week 6: 157 passing yards, one touchdown, three rushing yards, and three interceptions.
Week 7: 87 passing yards, 44 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and one interception.
Week 9: 245 passing yards, 22 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Week 10: 212 passing yards, one touchdown, and 16 rushing yards.
While he hasn’t been terrible, he hasn’t necessarily been good either. The Packers don’t seem to have changed their playbook or game plan at all, and Hundley is obviously not the same caliber quarterback that Rodgers is. Hundley isn’t worth streaming or starting, and it’s best to stay away from him at all costs.
Jordy Nelson
No one has fared worse from the Rodgers injury (other than Rodgers himself) than Jordy Nelson. Without Rodgers, here are Nelson’s weekly stats:
Week 6: six receptions for 60 yards
Week 7: one reception for 13 yards
Week 9: four receptions for 35 yards
Week 10: three receptions for 20 yards
Nelson hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 5, and he’s an extremely risky start now. In fact, I wouldn’t even start him. Fantasy owners of Nelson are in a rough spot. You can’t start him and you can’t trade him, so do you drop him or just keep him on the bench? At this point in the season, he may actually be droppable. I can’t believe I’m actually saying that, but it’s true.
Randall Cobb
Randall Cobb is in the same boat as Nelson. Here’s what he’s done the past four games without Rodgers:
Week 6: three receptions for 28 yards
Week 7: two receptions for 15 yards
Week 9: five receptions for 58 yards
Week 10: three receptions for 52 yards
The past three weeks, he’s scored more points than Nelson, but he’s still not startable. Sadly. Cobb is also probably droppable.
Davante Adams
This is where it gets interesting. Davante Adams may be the least affected by Rodgers’ injury. Look at his weekly breakdown:
Week 6: five receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown
Week 7: two receptions for 12 yards
Week 9: seven receptions for 53 yards
Week 10: five receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown
Adams is the only receiver that’s caught a touchdown from Hundley, and has still been decent enough to start.
Take a look at these two tweets:
Adams and Hundley’s rapport seems to be growing, and he’s definitely still in the start discussion. He’s harder to trust week-to-week with Hundley throwing to him, but Adams can still get you a solid amount of points.
Ty Montgomery & Aaron Jones
Ah, the Packers backfield…what a nightmare. At the beginning of the year (more specifically, the first two weeks), things were great. Ty Montgomery was the starter and was putting up great numbers. Then, in Week 4, Montgomery suffered a rib injury, which kept him out of one game.
The game he didn’t play, Aaron Jones, the backup running back, decided to have a career day. Jones had 125 rushing yards, one touchdown, and nine receiving yards.
When Montgomery came back, he found himself in a time-share. Here’s how the last four games have looked for each running back:
Ty Montgomery:
Week 6: 10 carries, 28 rushing yards, three receiving yards
Week 7: four carries, six rushing yards, nine receiving yards
Week 9: five carries, 33 rushing yards, 18 receiving yards
Week 10: six carries, 54 rushing yards, one touchdown, 14 receiving yards
Aaron Jones:
Week 6: 13 carries, 41 rushing yards, one receiving yard
Week 7: 17 carries, 131 rushing yards, one touchdown, seven receiving yards
Week 9: five carries, 12 rushing yards, negative one receiving yard
Week 10: three carries, 12 rushing yards
Both running backs got injured this past week, which left the backfield to rookie Jamaal Williams. He had 20 carries for 67 yards and seven receiving yards. That’s 3.35 yards per carry.
Jones suffered an MCL injury and is going to miss three to six weeks, which makes him droppable. Montgomery’s injury was to his ribs again, and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll play this week. If Montgomery sits, that puts Williams in the lead back role yet again, and he’ll be up against a stout Ravens run defense.
Even though Williams would be in for a good amount of carries, I still wouldn’t feel comfortable starting him. He’s probably going to be one of the top waiver wire adds this week, but I would only start him if you have no other options.
Looking ahead, the road looks bleak for the Packers. Here’s their remaining schedule:
Week 11: Ravens
Week 12: Steelers
Week 13: Buccaneers
Week 14: Browns
Week 15: Panthers
Week 16: Vikings
Week 17: Lions
Honestly, I only see them winning one or two of those games. Without Rodgers, the Packers look lost and without much offensive spark. Although Hundley may be slowly improving, it’s doesn’t seem like it’s enough to make the Packers stars safe to start. The only player I would even remotely want to put in my lineup would be Adams. Other than that, they’re riding my bench.
This year seems sadder than usual because of all the major injuries to major players, but I feel especially bad for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is the cornerstone of that team, and without him, their hopes of the playoffs are gone.
What do you think? Do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments.
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