26-year old Aaron Rodgers must have learned a lot from learning under Brett Favre.  The most important thing he learned from Favre is to play with pain as he was getting beat up bad early last season but he kept getting up.  Rodgers played in all 16 games for the Packers last season and he completed 350 of 541 passes (64.7%) for 4,434 yards with 30 TD passes and 7 INTs (103.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 58 times for 316 yards (5.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs last season.  Rodgers has now played in 39 games in his career with the Packers and he has completed 726 of 1,136 passes (63.9%) for 8,801 yards with 59 TD passes and 21 INTs (97.2 QB Rating).  Rodgers also has carried the ball 125 times for 570 yards (4.6 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  The Packers have a 17-15 (53.1%) record in the regular season with Rodgers under center but I think that’s going to continue to improve.  Rodgers has everything you want in a franchise QB and he is a more than fitting successor to Brett Favre.

24-year old Matt Flynn will be the #2 QB for the Packers who better keep praying every week for Rodgers’ health.  Flynn played in 15 games for the Packers last season and he completed 7 of 12 passes (58.3%) for 58 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (36.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for -5 yards (-1.0 ypc) last season.  Flynn has now played in 22 games for the Packers and he has completed 9 of 17 passes (52.9%) for 64 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (37.4 QB Rating).  Flynn has also carried the ball 9 times for -1 yard (-0.1 ypc) in his career but in his defense most of those were kneel downs.

Undrafted rookies Graham Harrell, Noah Shepard and Chris Pizzotti will battle it out for the #3 QB job for the Packers this training camp.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE PACKERS QBs in 2010:  A

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.

Korey Hall was a linebacker in college but he converted to fullback and won the starting job as a rookie.  Hall is 6’0″, 236 pounds and he’s a willing blocker and a decent receiver.  Hall played in 14 games (10 starts) for the Packers last season and he caught 8 passes for 49 yards (6.1 avg).  Look for the Packers to give him the football a few times in the running game this season to reward him for doing a good job.  He will be the starter at fullback for sure this season for the Packers and he will do a good job.

John Kuhn played a lot for the Packers last season as he played in all 16 games (1 start) last year and he caught 2 passes for 7 yards (3.5 avg).  Kuhn will likely backup Hall and play some on special teams in 2008 for the Packers.  Kuhn has now played in 25 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2 times for 16 yards (8.0 ypc).  He also has caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg) in his career.

Corey White is #3 in line at fullback for the Packers this season.  He is 6’1″, 239 pounds but he doesn’t have any experience which leaves him behind Hall and Kuhn on the depth chart heading into the season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B-

The Green Bay Packers are young at RB but they have a lot of talent on hand.  Getting Ryan Grant during the pre-season last year was a coup for the Packers as he really was a big key in the offense in the 2nd half of the season.  Grant ran with a good combination of power and speed.  He played in 15 games (7 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 188 times for 956 yards (5.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Grant also caught 30 passes for 145 yards (4.8 avg).  Look for Grant to improve on those numbers this season as he will be starting from day #1 n 2008.

Fellow 2nd year running back Brandon Jackson was the starter when the season started for the Packers before losing his job to DeShawn Wynn.  But, Jackson responded well late in the season which made the Packers’ front office happy with him.  Jackson played in 11 games (3 starts) last year for the Packers and he carried the ball 75 times for 267 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 16 passes for 130 yards (8.1 avg).  Look for Jackson to have better numbers in 2008.

DeShawn Wynn showed that he has some talent but he will need to stay healthy to really achieve his full potential.  Wynn played in 7 games (4 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 50 times for 203 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 9 passes for 73 yards (8.1 avg).  Wynn has the potential to be more than a backup if the guys in front of him on the depth chart go down to injury.

Vernand Morency was buried on the depth chart behind all of the rookies and it will be interesting to see how he responds to this challenge.  Morency played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 29 times for 108 yards (3.7 ypc).  He also caught 30 passes for 199 yards (6.6 avg).  It appears that Morency will not ever live up to the potential that many thought he had coming out of college.  Morency has now played in 39 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 171 times for 726 yards (4.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also has caught 57 passes for 404 yards (7.1 avg).

Noah Herron will have a hard time making the Packers this season.  He did not play a down last season for the Packers.  He has now played in 23 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 85 times for 273 yards (3.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 29 passes for 211 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Aaron Rodgers has bided his time behind future Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre and the Packers hope he was paying attention.  Rodgers has a strong arm and he can run the ball well.  He does not have the legendary threshold of pain that Brett Favre had as he missed a lot of time due to injury even as a backup.  Rodgers played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Packers last season and he completed 20 of 28 passes (71.4%) for 218 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (106.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 ypc).  No one really knows what to expect out of Rodgers but the Packers drafted two QBs this April and that speaks volumes.  Rodgers has now played in 7 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 35 of 59 passes (59.3%) for 329 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (73.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 11 times for 47 yards (4.3 ypc).

With Aaron Rodgers not being the picture of health in his NFL career the Packers decided to draft Brian Brohm out of Louisville.  Brohm would have been a top 10 pick if the entered the draft a year earlier and it wasn’t anything he did to cause his tumble as his numbers were still strong.  Brohm has a strong arm and he can make all of the throws needed to succeed in the NFL.  He will be a serious threat to Aaron Rodgers’ job in the future but he will likely be safe this season.  If Rodgers goes down to injury, Brohm might steal the starting job from him.

The third string QB will likely be Matt Flynn who was selected in the 7th round out of LSU.  All he did last year was lead LSU to the National Title in his first year as a starter.  He doesn’t have good arm strength but he’s mobile enough to roll the pocket and get himself out of trouble.  Flynn projects as a long term backup in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C