Two Packers Given Strong Chances for Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection

One of those, obviously, is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The other is his left-hand man.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Former Green Bay Packers star LeRoy Butler will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 6.

Which current members of the Packers are destined to be fitted with gold jackets?

The 33rd Team, the site started by former NFL executives Mike Tannenbaum and Joe Banner, created a list of candidates and placed them in tiers. Tier 1 are the locks and Tier 2 are the near-locks. Tier 3 are those with “strong” credentials, Tier 4 are “plausible” nominees and Tier 5 are the young stars.

Two members of the Packers made the list.

The first is obvious, with four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers listed among 13 locks. In NFL history, Rodgers ranks 10th with 55,360 passing yards, fifth with 449 touchdown passes, second with a 104.5 passer rating and first (by a huge margin) in touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Rodgers is one touchdown pass from No. 450 in his career and, more importantly, 51 touchdown passes from becoming fifth quarterback in NFL history to reach 500.

Meanwhile, Rodgers has thrown only 93 interceptions in his career. So, if Rodgers over the next season-plus can throw 51 touchdowns before throwing a seventh interception, he’d form a one-man club of quarterbacks with more than 500 touchdowns but less than 100 interceptions. He already was the only quarterback who had less than 100 interceptions when he threw his 400th touchdown pass.

Here’s the career leaderboard for touchdown passes.

Tom Brady: 624 touchdowns, 203 interceptions (tied, 29th); touchdown-to-interception ratio of 3.07 (fourth).

Drew Brees: 571 touchdowns, 243 interceptions (tied, 13th); touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.35 (11th).

Peyton Manning: 539 touchdowns, 251 interceptions (ninth); touchdown-to-interception ratio of 2.15 (16th).

Brett Favre: 508 touchdowns, 336 interceptions (first); touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1.51 (49th).

Aaron Rodgers: 449 touchdowns, 93 interceptions (tied, 128th); touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4.83 (first).

The other potential Hall of Famer currently playing for the Packers is five-time All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari. Rodgers has trumpeted his left-hand man’s Hall of Fame credentials a few times over the years, including in 2018, and Bakhtiari addressed it in the video associated with this story.

“He’s an All-Pro. I think he has Hall of Fame potential,” Rodgers said. “He’s an incredible player. He’s been a rock for us. When he’s over there, you feel really comfortable with him locking down pass rushers throughout the game.”

Rodgers, of course, could retire today and be in the Hall of Fame after the mandatory five-year wait. Bakhtiari, who will turn 31 on Sept. 30, missed almost the entire 2021 season following a torn ACL. A successful comeback this season, with a few more Pro Bowl selections tacked on to the back half of his career, could cement his candidacy.

Former Packers receiver Davante Adams was a Tier 3 pick. That is perhaps undervalued considering his dominance the last six seasons as the No. 1-ranked receiver in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

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