Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is having a historic season. Even after years of productivity, his body of work shows that he’s still at the top of his game.
Interestingly, making a case for Rodgers at MVP is what the Packers did in the 2020 Draft.
–The first overall draft choice was Jordan Love, a quarterback from Utah State, who’s most likely to be Rodgers’ replacement at some point.
–The second choice was A.J. Dillon, a running back from Boston College, a bruiser, who will take the pressure off the quarterback.
–Third was Josh Deguara, a run-blocking tight end from Cincinnati.
–The next offensive players picked were Jon Runyan Jr., a run-blocking guard from Michigan, and Jake Hanson, a center from Oregon. Hanson is familiar with an offense that uses zone runs and screen passes.
-And so is the final offensive pick, Indiana’s Simon Stepaniak, a guard.
What do all of these players have in common? They were drafted to change the team’s future identity to a zone-running offense. Consider this: no wide receivers were picked, only one running back was chosen, and the picks were mainly passing-blocking lineman. And, as it turned out, none of those rookies have helped Aaron Rodgers play the way he has been playing the past 13 seasons.
The prolific Aaron Rodgers (photo, LiveWire)
And how has Rodgers been playing? The stats to do the talking.
Rodgers has passed for 33 TDs (most in the NFL), while throwing only four interceptions (3rd least in the NFL). Rodgers has a passer rating of 117.6, which is the NFL’s highest. And along the way, Rodgers has thrown 43 20-yard-plus pass plays (3rd in the NFL) and 11 40-yard-plus plays (1st in the NFL).
Those stats are the stats of an NFL MVP. Plus, if Rodgers continues at that pace for the entire 2020 season, he’ll throw for 4500 yards, 48 touchdowns, and have only six interceptions.
Given the friendly schedule the rest of the way, he’ll likely do that and more. The Packers will play the Eagles, Lions, Titans, Panthers, and the Bears–teams with a combined 24-31-1 record (44% win rate). Given those teams’ weak Defensive Against the Passing (DARP) ratings, it wouldn’t be out of the for Rodgers to throw 50+ touchdown passes this season.
When you put everything together, I’ve got my money on Rodgers to end up as the NFL’s 2020 MVP.
