Heller’s Three Burning Questions 3.0: Green Bay Packers

With the 2021 NFL Draft over and the schedule officially being released, it’s time for my third annual 32 part series where the top three questions will be posed for each NFL team. Here are those three questions for the Green Bay Packers.

Be sure to check out all of Heller’s Three Burning Questions.

Is Aaron Rodgers Really Done in Green Bay?

Reigning MVP Rodgers has been embattled in a war of words with the organization. An act that we saw the previous offseason when the Packers drafted Rodgers’ successor in Jordan Love instead of drafting a weapon for him. What he did with that chip on his shoulder was lead the Packers to a 13-3 regular-season record and home-field advantage in the NFC. Green Bay fell just one win shy of playing in the Super Bowl after losing to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Conference Round on a rather confusing play call.

Rodgers threw for one yard shy of 4,300 yards and 48 touchdowns, with just five interceptions. Davante Adams caught 18 of those touchdowns while third-year tight end Robert Tonyan scored 11 as he served as a security blanket for his quarterback, as he always seemed to get open. Tonyan had just a pair of touchdowns total through his first two seasons.

Third-year receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling also had his best season statistically. But he also had some big-time wide-open drops, which would’ve made his quarterback’s totals even better.

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It’s hard to imagine Rodgers won’t be under center for the Packers in Week 1. Still, it was hard to imagine not that long ago that fans in Wisconsin thought it would be impossible to see a Week 1 game without Brett Favre under center and look how that played out.

Can the Running Game Continue to Have Success?

Aaron Jones followed up his first 1,000-yard rushing season in 2019 by rushing for a career-high 1,104 yards. He added another 355 yards receiving and scored a combined 11 touchdowns. In a contract year, he earned every penny of his subsequent four-year, $48 million contract from the Packers to keep him from going elsewhere. Jones’ success added to the success of his quarterback and vice versa.

Same Old, Same Old, Defensively?

Last season has been the constant theme for the last couple of seasons. Green Bay’s defense was led by the Smith brothers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith. The duo, seemingly in on every stop defensively, combined for 16.5 sacks, with Za’Darius accounting for 12.5. He earned his well-deserved first Pro Bowl selection. His teammate, Jaire Alexander, also made his first Pro Bowl out of the Packers’ secondary.