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Aaron Rodgers certainly didn't play like an NFL MVP this past season, but that doesn't mean No. 12 can't get back to form in 2019.
Frankly, that should be the expectation around the NFL and it's certainly an expectation in Green Bay. Rodgers, who turned 35 this past season, doesn't have a huge window left to bring Lombardi glory back to the Packers, and everybody knows it. Sure, Tom Brady is intent on playing until he's 45 but Rodgers has never indicated that kind of passion, at least not yet. Throw in his injury history and the fact that he always goes all-out on the football field, and it's reasonable to suggest that he has only a few more seasons left in his prime.
Still, Aaron Rodgers in his prime is arguably the greatest quarterback of all time, so an MVP season in 2019 is not out of the realm of possibility.
Here are three reasons why:
3. New Head Coach Matt LaFleur
By all accounts, Matt LaFleur is “the guy” to help bring the Packers offense back up to speed. Sure, Mike McCarthy helped the Packers win a Super Bowl but that was a long time ago at this point. Green Bay has gone season after season without getting back to the big game and McCarthy's stagnant and never-changing play-calling has been a major reason why. That was most evident last season when Rodgers didn't have a ton of talent around him and McCarthy had a hard time scheming players open to give him a shot at making plays. Yes, Rodgers played a role in the Packers' struggles by perhaps being a bit to stubborn and he certainly wasn't as accurate as usual, but a fresh face and philosophy from LaFleur should go a long ways towards curing Green Bay's offensive woes.
LaFleur is a protege of offensive-minded coaches like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay, so the expectation is that he brings high-scoring football back to Green Bay ASAP.
2. The Running Game
It seems counter-intuitive, but anybody who knows anything about football would agree that a strong running game in Green Bay will make things easier for Rodgers in 2019 and beyond. The good news for the Packers is LaFleur is coming from a zone-offense scheme that is very reliant on a strong running game. Not only will that take some pressure off of Rodgers to make every single offensive play, but it will also open things up for him downfield.
Aaron Jones should be a nice fit for LaFleur's offense, and if healthy he's set to breakout and have a Pro Bowl year. There are few backs in the league with his combination of vision, shiftiness and explosion as a runner.
The Packers also have the makings of a one-two punch with Jamaal Williams coming in to spell Jones, and he's proven to be the “thunder” to Jones' “lightning” in the past.
1. Improvement from the young wide receivers
If wide receivers were a stock, it would be wise to buy what you're seeing out of the young receivers in Green Bay. Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown were thrown into action early last season due to injuries at the position, and while neither player fully figured it out, both flashed tons of potential. MVS proved that he can be a pure deep-threat for Green Bay with a nice combination of size and speed, and EQ — and he's known — ended up being arguably the Packers' top option over the middle.
Throw in the raw talent of fellow 2018 rookie wideout J'Mon Moore, and the Packers clearly have the making of an elite wide receiver group when you consider the pro-bowl talent of Davante Adams and any additional talent Green Bay adds in free agency or the 2019 NFL draft.
Either way, whether it be via the run game, a stacked wideout group or via new head coach Matt FaFleur, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about Aaron Rodgers' 2019 season if your a fan of the Green Bay Packers.
