Packers fans are feeling a little lost with this Packers team. Look at this roster. At middle linebacker there is a second-year player and a rookie. The top three corner backs in a deep backfield have been out most of the year so far. Eddie Lacy looked very good, but never found the end zone and then found himself on injured reserve. Even James Starks has been gone almost all year so far. In an era of fantasy football, the flashy stats that people expect from this offense have been down.
Looking at this team and evaluating who the leaders are and who has been standing out is difficult as this team has been inconsistent. Aaron Rodgers has a single 300+ yard game. Sometimes Randall Cobb is the hero, sometimes it is Davante Adams. I am going for some names that maybe you did not think about, but these are the most consistently good players.
Top Midseason Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl Candidates
David Bakhtiari
Bakhtiari has been a rock at left tackle. Through seven games he has given up just 2.0 sacks. Going against the pass rushers of the Vikings and Giants among others, this is great work. Beyond this, Bakhtiari only has one holding penalty. He has great foot work and he is part of the reason Rodgers has been at least as good as he has been. If you are watching these games (which I certainly am) you know that Rodgers holds the ball. In the early part of the schedule when the Packers were insisting on throwing deeper down field, Rodgers routinely had five and six seconds of no pressure. After giving up Josh Sitton for nothing, this offensive line has not missed a beat. Bakhtiari got his contract extension this year and has continued to grow. He has been the most consistent player on this team. Consistent, and consistently great.
Davante Adams
Adams leads the team in receiving yards and receptions. He is doing this while receiving the second most targets. Adams is catching 70.2% of his targets (Cobb at 70.9% and Nelson at 51.7%). Additionally, Adams has five touchdowns, just one behind Jordy Nelson‘s six. Adams has also been gaining momentum. Despite starting slowly, Adams has been having his best games of late.
One of the other points in placing Adams on this list is it seems like Rodgers might not be a Pro Bowler unless he has a much better second half. If so, that remains unseen. The Packers receivers have gotten a bad rap as not getting open. This is the NFL, a step is separation. The Packers might have become too big play heavy and defenses are sitting back in the cover two shell look that seems to be slowing Rodgers. Adams has been getting open enough for an elite quarterback to get him the ball. NFL quarterbacks only need a step. Add to that the number of times Adams has made the great catch when he was not open. Rodgers seems to have gained trust in Adams, watching Adams go up and wrestle away most of the 50/50 balls thrown his way. Nelson and Cobb have not done this in 2016.
Nick Perry
The run defense has been one of the best parts of this defense. Obviously, the injuries in the defensive backfield have taken their toll. Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez have been solid. They are the two leading tacklers on this team, but neither is standing out. Both good, but both have issues in the pass coverage game. Perry has been very good in holding his edge from his outside position and has had the discipline to avoid chasing the ball down the line and leaving open cut back lanes. Still, if you are an outside linebacker you get judged on sack numbers. Perry’s 5.5 sacks leads the Packers so far. Add to this his interception against the Bears.
With Clay Matthews back to his outside linebacker position and Julius Peppers getting a snap count, Nick Perry has been relied on to be the presence on the edge across from Matthews. Perry has been one of the best players on this defense and he has been important in both the pass defense and the run defense. Matthews is the big name, but Perry is making the impact as teams shift to stop Matthews.
Also Rans
As I said, Jake Ryan (Shadow Recruit) has been key in the run stopping portion of the defense. He has pretty standard linebacker speed and has played with great instincts. Randall Cobb has started to come along in recent weeks and showed a leadership mentality in the receiving game. Ty Montgomery is an interesting name as well, but he has not had enough big games to be considered right now. That could all change very quickly. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has been everywhere. The other thing to remember is Clinton-Dix has been covering up the inexperience of the backup corner backs that have taken the field for the Packers so far.
Rodgers will always be the big name. He is the most important player to the Packers success and he has looked like himself over the last two games. Still, I have kept him off this list at this midseason point because he has not looked like one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFC (let alone the NFL). With the well-documented frustration of Rodgers, I left him off this list for now. Plenty of time.
