Though it’s been just more than a month since the Packers’ season ended in crushing fashion against the Buccaneers, it feels like football is right around the corner again.
Perhaps that’s because in a mere two weeks, what promises to be a hectic free agency period kicks off before mock draft season revs into high gear ahead of next month’s draft. This is one of the busiest times of the year on the NFL calendar, so savor these next two weeks of relative calm before you start screaming at your computer because the Packers aren’t following your free agency big board.
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Green Bay’s 2021 starting lineups will begin to take shape over the next two months, with general manager Brian Gutekunst likely acquiring or selecting a couple future Packers starters that wore different uniforms last season, whether it be in college or the pros. In 2020, those players were linebackers Christian Kirksey, Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin and offensive tackle Rick Wagner.
In 2021, the Packers could see new faces at running back, on the offensive line, at cornerback and on special teams, potentially among other spots.
Here is an early look at who Green Bay might trot out to start on all three units.
Offense
QB: Aaron Rodgers
It took about a week for the percentage that Rodgers will be the Packers’ starting quarterback next season to go from 80 (after his vague post-NFC title game comments about his future being uncertain) to 100 percent (after Gutekunst said Rodgers will be the starter for the long term in his season wrap-up press conference).
RB: AJ Dillon
With Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams potentially both gone in free agency, Dillon is in line to be the new feature back in just his second season. The Packers hope he can recreate that 124-yard, two-touchdown performance on the ground in Week 16 against the Titans on a more consistent basis.
TE: Robert Tonyan
If the Packers sign Tonyan to a second-round tender, seemingly the most likely scenario for the restricted free agent tight end, it’ll be interesting to see if another team tries to pluck him away. I think Tonyan stays in Green Bay for an encore to his 12-touchdown season.
WR: Davante Adams
Since 2016, Adams has 58 touchdown catches. Second place on that list is the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill with 47. Adams could go touchdown-less in 2021 and possibly still be considered the most productive wideout of the last six seasons.
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We saw how valuable Valdes-Scantling is when he’s on. We also saw how back-breaking his gaffes can be when he’s not. The Packers will continue giving MVS chances and hope the former far outweighs the latter.
50-YARD STRIKE! @AaronRodgers12 @MVS__11#NFLPlayoffs #GoPackGo
📺: #TBvsGB on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/cHuzDq5flQ pic.twitter.com/03WGHIvFVd— NFL (@NFL) January 24, 2021
WR: Allen Lazard
The core muscle tear derailed what was a promising start for Lazard after a breakout 2019, but if he stays fully healthy in 2021, he should be a legit No. 2 or No. 3 weapon for Rodgers and the Packers’ passing game. He’s also the self-proclaimed best blocking wide receiver in the league.
LT: David Bakhtiari
If I was a gambling man, I’d put my money on the tough-as-nails first-team All-Pro left tackle to be in the Week 1 starting lineup after tearing an ACL on Dec. 31.
LG: Elgton Jenkins
Assuming Corey Linsley leaves in free agency, the Packers will have the option of putting Jenkins at center. Though he could be an All-Pro talent there, too, he’s better suited at his usual left guard spot to start the season, if only to help Bakhtiari ease back in following his ACL tear.
Do you go with Patrick or 2020 sixth-round pick Jake Hanson at center? I’d go with the more experienced Patrick, who has proven capable at the position in NFL games, whereas Hanson spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad and injured reserve. Rodgers trusts Patrick, whereas he might not trust Hanson just yet.
RG: Jon Runyan Jr.
Runyan looked sturdy when he filled in sporadically in 2020. He never started, but that might change in 2021 with Rick Wagner gone and the likelihood that Billy Turner remains at his natural tackle spot.
RT: Billy Turner
Turner made his 2019 free-agent contract look like a masterful deal with how he played at multiple spots in 2020 after a shaky first season with the Packers in 2019. He went from potential cap casualty to surefire lock to start on Rodgers’ strong side if Bakhtiari is healthy, and likely starter on Rodgers’ blind side if Bakhtiari is not.
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Defense
DE: Dean Lowry
The Packers can still release Lowry and free up $3.3 million against the cap, but Tyler Lancaster isn’t exactly the most inspiring reserve and Green Bay might be better suited to use their first-round pick on a future starting outside cornerback. I think Lowry stays and starts, but with a $5.8 million cap savings attached to his name in 2022, this is his last chance in Green Bay.
NT: Kenny Clark
The lone sure thing on the Packers’ defensive line is Clark, who at age 25 is already entering his sixth season in the league. He’s the only defensive lineman who has proven to be consistently able to rush the passer and stop the run. Maybe the Packers can find someone else who can fill in more than just in spurts this coming season.
Kenny Clark in on the sack of Jared Goff. #Packers pic.twitter.com/htWs19p4o7
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) January 17, 2021
DE: Kingsley Keke
Keke showed in 2020 why he can be a piece for the future on new defensive coordinator Joe Barry’s defensive line. His season ended prematurely because of a concussion, but he flashed a pass-rush ability that should earn him a starting spot over Lancaster in 2021.
OLB: Za’Darius Smith
Smith was double-teamed at the second-highest rate in the NFL, behind only J.J. Watt, according to ESPN Stats & Info. He was named a Pro Bowl starter and a second-team All-Pro, again proving that Gutekunst’s decision to sign Smith was nothing short of brilliant.
OLB: Rashan Gary
Even if the Packers don’t release Preston Smith to free up $8 million in cap space, Gary should be ahead of him on the depth chart after how both played in 2020.
ILB: Kamal Martin
After an impressive training camp, Martin missed the first six games of the season due to a knee injury. When healthy, he sometimes played too fast for his own good but showcased a play-making ability that lends hope to the belief that he can be an impactful middle linebacker for years to come, especially when it comes to making plays in the backfield or near the line of scrimmage.
ILB: Krys Barnes
Barnes, too, was a rookie linebacker who struggled to avoid injury, his more of the nagging variety. But the Packers releasing veteran Christian Kirksey is a sign that they’re ready to hand Barnes an even bigger workload than he shouldered at the end of the season, when he out-snapped Kirksey in the final two regular-season games and both playoff games.
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CB: Jaire Alexander
Not much needs to be said here. Alexander established himself as one of the top corners in the NFL last season, and you can make an argument the second-team All-Pro deserved first-team honors.
CB: Richard Sherman
Why not? An established veteran and future Hall of Famer to teach a 2021 first-round pick the ropes before the youngster is ready to take over, all while chasing another ring in Green Bay? Seems like a win-win situation. I’d trust Sherman more than Josh Jackson, Ka’dar Hollman or Chandon Sullivan opposite Alexander. What about you?
S: Adrian Amos
Amos quietly became one of the NFL’s top safeties this season, and six of 50 Associated Press All-Pro voters included Amos as one of the league’s two best safeties.
Adrian Amos will be known as Famous Amos if this interception later leads to Green Bay winning this football game. The Packers have a heartbeat. pic.twitter.com/7kwvCUS1Dv
— Gershon Rabinowitz (@GershOnline) January 24, 2021
Savage led the Packers with four interceptions and after an underwhelming rookie season, he showed why the Packers traded up for him in the first round in 2019. He and Amos form one of the better safety tandems in the NFL.
Specialists
K: Mason Crosby
Entering Year 2 of a three-year deal he signed in February 2020, Crosby is coming off a season in which he made all 16 field-goal attempts (the four missed extra points are a problem, though).
At 36, Mason Crosby still on top of his game: McGinn grades Packers’ specialists https://t.co/TMdBLGjznu
— The Athletic Wisconsin (@TheAthleticWISC) February 26, 2021
P: JK Scott
Don’t be surprised if the Packers cut bait with their 2018 fifth-round pick. He wasn’t very good in 2020, and with a new special teams coordinator, they might bring in a new punter, too.
LS: Morgan Cox
I’m no long-snapping expert, but you’re not supposed to notice long-snappers. We noticed Hunter Bradley far too much this season because of his miscues. Cox has been part of arguably the NFL’s best special-teams operations in Baltimore since 2010 before the Ravens cut him after the season. The Packers could probably sign him for around $1 million on a one-year deal.
(Photo of Crosby and Rodgers: Scott Boehm via Associated Press)
