A lot of Aaron Rodgers stuff in the news lately, thanks to a story by a former Packers beat reporter that laid out a fairly ugly history between Rodgers and former coach Mike McCarthy. The involved particulars are denying it, predictably, and maybe the story motivates Rodgers to have a huge season. He's due for one, anyway.
Back in 2009, Rodgers was the No. 1 fantasy quarterback (1 point for every 20 passing and 1o rushing yards, 4-point TD passes and 6-point TD runs). He finished No. 2 in each of the next three seasons, rewarding those who made him an early picks. The last six seasons, though, he's been off far more than on.
In 2014 he was No. 2 again, and in 2016 he was No. 1. But the other four seasons, you drafted him too early.
| AARON RODGERS FANTASY RANKS, 2013-2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | FF | Rk |
| 2013 | 2536 | 17 | 120 | 0 | 207 | 26 |
| 2014 | 4381 | 38 | 269 | 2 | 412 | 2 |
| 2015 | 3821 | 31 | 344 | 1 | 363 | 8 |
| 2016 | 4428 | 40 | 369 | 4 | 446 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1675 | 16 | 126 | 0 | 160 | 31 |
| 2018 | 4442 | 25 | 269 | 2 | 367 | 7 |
Rodgers says he wasn't healthy all last season after getting hurt in Week 1. And in his two worst seasons above, he was sidelined for roughly half the season due to injury. Maybe in 2019 he can stay healthy, and use the motivation of the criticism he's taken to be a top fantasy quarterback again.
But we'll see. Rodgers is 35, he's got a rookie head coach and a young and unproven wide receiving corps (after Davante Adams), and he hasn't been able to stay healthy in recent years. Kind of looks like he'll be drafted too early in most leagues, based on a performance level he hasn't achieved very often the last six years.
--Andy Richardson