Rodgers, Adams Headline PFF Midseason All-Pro Team

Also making the grade for first-team honors were center Corey Linsley and cornerback Jaire Alexander.

Bill Huber | Nov 11, 2020

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The dynamic duo of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams lead the way as the Green Bay Packers placed four players on Pro Football Focus’ midseason all-pro team.

Also making the grade for first-team honors were center Corey Linsley and cornerback Jaire Alexander.

In an MVP-worthy start to the season, Rodgers has completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,253 yards with 24 touchdowns vs. two interceptions, good for a passer rating of 117.5. The simple math shows a quarterback on pace for more than 4,500 passing yards and an unfathomable 48 touchdowns vs. four interceptions.

If he can continue that pace for the rest of the season, he would have a 12-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. That would be the fourth-best in NFL history behind Tom Brady’s 14.0 in 2016, Nick Foles’ 13.5 in 2013 and Rodgers’ 12.5 in 2018. In fact, of the top 11 seasons in NFL history, Rodgers would hold five of the spots.

“We could have gone in a number of different directions at quarterback, but in the end, we decided to jump aboard the Aaron Rodgers revenge tour,” wrote PFF’s Sam Monson. “Rodgers is the highest-graded quarterback in the NFL through nine weeks despite an ugly performance against Tampa Bay in Week 5.

“He has 23 big-time throws, second only to Russell Wilson, and has offset those with just four turnover-worthy plays all season. You could make a strong case for Wilson, Patrick Mahomes or even Tom Brady — despite his most recent disaster — but Rodgers’ numbers are too good to ignore.”

During Thursday’s 34-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Adams caught 10 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown. It’s his third game this season with 10-plus catches, 150-plus yards and at least one touchdown. According to Stathead.com, Adams and Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions, 2012) are the only players in NFL history with three such games in one season. And Adams has only played in five full games.

“Adams has been arguably the best route-runner in the game for a number of years now, but this season, he may just be the best receiver, period,” Monson said as part of his assessment.

PFF has charged Linsley with only one pressure in pass protection. He’s been the one piece of stability on an offensive line that has turned in a strong start to the season despite having to work around injuries to David Bakhtiari, Lane Taylor and Billy Turner.

Alexander has been sensational. Based on PFF’s determination of coverage assignments, he’s allowed only 75 receiving yards the last seven games.

“I challenge somebody to find a corner who’s having a better season than he is,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said last week.

Published Nov 11, 2020

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.