Aaron Rodgers proved without a doubt last season that he was a better QB than the version of Brett Favre that played with the Jets last season.  Rodgers was outstanding in every facet of the game for the Packers last year.  He has a good arm, is intelligent with the football and he’s a good runner.  With a season of experience under his belt there is no reason not to think that Rodgers could very well be playing in the Pro Bowl this year.  2nd year QBs Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm will battle for the backup job again this season.  Flynn beat out Brohm in somewhat of a surprise last season and he will go into training camp as the #2 guy.  Brohm better step up if he wants to keep getting paid to play football.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  A-

23-year old Mason Crosby had some accuracy issues last season for the Packers on field goals but he’s hoping to make up for it in 2008.  He has a strong enough leg to nail the long ones so the Packers are hopeful for improvement.  Crosby played in all 16 games for the Packers last season and he connected on 31 of 39 field goals (79.5%).  He also converted all 48 of his extra point attempts. 

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Packers have so many playmakers at other positions that the defense usually doesn’t pay much attention to the tight ends and they have a talented bunch.  27-year old Donald Lee had a breakout season for the Packers in 2007.  He played in 15 games for the Packers last season and he caught 48 passes for 575 yards (12.0 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Look for Lee to have even better numbers this season as he’s clearly the #1 TE on the Packers heading into this season.  Lee has now played in 77 games in his NFL career and he has caught 111 passes for 1,239 yards (11.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs. 

21-year old rookie Jermichael Finley has a nice upside but the Packers will probably bring him around slowly.  Finley played in 13 games (all starts) with Texas last season and he caught 45 passes for 575 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Packers hope that Finley will be ready to play in 2 TE sets as a rookie as he is clearly the second most talented TE on the team.  Finley played in 26 games (17 starts) in his career at Texas and he caught 76 passes for 947 yards (12.5 avg) with 5 TDs.

The Packers keep raving about Tory Humphrey but he never makes it to the field before breaking down.  The 6′2″, 250 pound Humphrey did not play in a game with the Packers last season.  He last played in 2005 with the Packers and it was only 1 game.  He has yet to catch a pass in his NFL career which could be over if he doesn’t do something this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Packers are really stacked at WR for the 2008 season.  24-year old Greg Jennings appears on the verge of becoming the new go-to receiver on the Packers.  He is super fast as he blows right by defenders often on his way towards the end zone.  Jennings played in 13 games for the Packers last season and he caught 53 passes for 920 yards (17.4 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Look for Jennings to have another outstanding season for the Packers in 2008.   He has now played in 27 games in his NFL career and he has caught 98 passes for 1,552 yards (15.8 avg) with 15 TD grabs. 

33-year old Donald Driver still makes all of the tough grabs in traffic that no one else wants to and he has great hands.  Driver still has enough speed to get deep once in a while but not as often as he used to.  Driver played in 15 games for the Packers last season and he caught 82 passes for 1,048 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Look for Driver to have another solid season in 2008 unless he starts to show his age.  Driver has now played in 128 games in his NFL career and he has caught 503 passes for 6,977 yards (13.9 avg) with 38 TD grabs.

2nd year man James Jones had a very solid rookie season for the Packers and he has the edge for being the #3 WR for the Packers in 2008.  Jones has a good speed/size combo which projects to him being a future starter down the road for the Packers when Donald Driver decides to hang up the cleats.  Jones played in all 16 games for the Packers last season and he caught 47 passes for 676 yards (14.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs. 

The Packers couldn’t resist drafting another WR last April despite already being loaded there and that’s because Jordy Nelson was the player available.  Nelson is a big guy at 6′3″, 217 pounds and he had a great year last season at Kansas State.  Nelson played in 12 games (all starts) for Kansas State last season and he caught 122 passes for 1,606 yards (13.2 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Don’t look for Nelson to have a big role with the Packers as a rookie unless they suffer some injuries above him on the depth chart but he does have a bright future.  Nelson finished his career at Kansas State playing in 36 games (32 starts) in which he caught 206 passes for 2,822 yards (13.7 avg) with 20 TD grabs.

25-year old Ruvell Martin is a big guy (6′4″, 210 pounds) and he can get down the field.  He appears caught in a numbers game as he projects no higher than the #4 receiver on the Packers.  Martin played in 15 games with the Packers last season and he caught 16 passes for 242 yards (15.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Look for Martin to just pick up scraps from under the table for the Packers in the passing game.  Martin has now played in 28 games in his NFL career and he has caught 37 passes for 600 yards (16.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A

The minute that Brett Favre landed in Wisconsin the circus has begun.  Will the Packers trade him or keep him?  This will be a very interesting soap opera to keep your eyes on.  The fact that the Packers have talked to the Vikings about a trade shows just how nuts GM  Ted Thompson is.  The only thing holding the Vikings back from being a great team is a QB so why on earth would you want to help them?  If the Packers open up the competition for the starting job between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers I have no doubt that Favre will beat him out.  Rodgers looked awful in the Packers FanFest scrimmage as he only completed 7 of 20 passes for 84 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception.  If Rodgers loses the starting job to Brett Favre the Packers would be smart to trade him in the near future as they have promised him the starting job the whole offseason.  He is a talented QB but so is Brian Brohm behind him.  The Packers should keep Brett Favre and realize that they are a Super Bowl contender with him but they will have a hard time making the playoffs with Rodgers starting.