APC’s Packers All-Decade offense for the 2010s has few surprises, ten unanimous picks

The Green Bay Packers put together quite a decade in the 2010s. A Super Bowl title, four NFC Championship Game appearances, six NFC North titles, eight playoff appearances, and a regular season winning percentage of .644 are results that most pro football franchises would be thrilled to experience.

Of course, excellence is the expectation in Green Bay, but it can still be helpful to put those numbers into context. And to help Packers fans appreciate the past decade, APC has compiled the All-Decade Packers roster, picking the top starting lineup for over the course of the span from 2010 to 2019.

Today we begin by discussing the offense, which finished in the top five in points scored four times in the decade and in the top ten six times. There is not much of a contest at many of the positions on offense, but the exercise was a fun one anyway. Seven APC contributors pitched in with their votes and ten of 11 offensive spots were unanimous picks.

Here’s our pick for the Packers’ All-2010s Offense.

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Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers

Obviously, this selection was a no-brainer. The Packers went 96-45-1 with Rodgers starting at quarterback in the last decade, and his 305 touchdowns against 63 interceptions remains a stunning ratio. Rodgers leads all quarterbacks in the decade in passer rating and adjusted yards per attempt. Among the best quarterbacks in the game, he is tied with Drew Brees for the lead in adjusted net yards per attempt (which takes sacks into account).

That’s probably enough said about that position.

Running Back: Aaron Jones

Also receiving votes: Eddie Lacy

Running back was the only position on the offense that did not have a unanimous selection across the seven APC contributors who voted. Lacy drew two votes, in large part due to his tremendous peak in 2013 and 2014. However, Jones’ slashing style and downfield receiving ability got him the nod over Lacy, whose receiving talents largely centered around screen passes.

Jones would need to run for 1,175 yards in 2020 to match Lacy’s total in four years with the Packers, but Jones already has eclipsed Lacy’s totals in touchdowns 28 to 23 and needs just 198 yards receiving to catch Lacy. On a per-game basis, Jones’ rushing attempts and yards are lower than Lacy’s, but the touchdowns make a big difference, as is his yards per carry average — 5.0 to Lacy’s 4.4. Interestingly, both players are almost identical in receiving production per game, with about two receptions and exactly 17.6 yards apiece.

Jones earned the spot with five votes to Lacy’s two.

Tight End: Jermichael Finley

Finley makes this team despite really only having two and a half seasons of production in the decade, but what a two and a half seasons they were. In 37 regular seasons during the decade, Finley posted 162 receptions for 2,035 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 12.6 yards per catch, 47.3 yards per game, and a 67.8% catch rate. Those numbers dwarf any other Packers tight end this decade.

Wide Receivers: Jordy Nelson & Davante Adams

While Greg Jennings had a great start to the decade, his tenure with the Packers only lasted three years into the decade. That means that despite holding a lead in yards per game and touchdowns per game in the decade, he can’t overcome the leads that Adams and Nelson hold in longevity within the 2010s.

Nelson leads the receiver group in every counting stats category this decade, and falls two-tenths of a reception per game short of Jennings. Adams leads the way in receptions per game with five.

The other realistic candidate here is Randall Cobb, who did finish second among this group in receptions and yards. However, he is last among these four players in every per-game receiving number. That edged him out despite a longer tenure than Adams, but not for long.

Flex: Randall Cobb

With any other position available for a flex, Cobb easily took this vote. As noted above, he did finish second to Nelson in total receptions and receiving yards, and his added abilities as a runner give him some additional value. It’s easy to forget just how good Cobb was form the slot for a while, particularly in the 2014 season, his only Pro Bowl year. In fact, Cobb’s yards per reception through his first four seasons was a solid 13.4 to go with nearly a 74% catch rate, giving him better numbers through four years than Adams. But after a 2015 injury slowed him, he dropped off precipitously, dropping him back into a unanimous selection as our flex player.

Left Tackle: David Bakhtiari

This choice came down to a three-time All-Pro vs. two years of Marshall Newhouse or Chad Clifton’s protection during the 2010 Super Bowl campaign. Bakh’s instant impact at left tackle when Bryan Bulaga went down on Family Night in 2013 cannot be overstated, nor can the fact that he has missed just six games in seven seasons. He’s the best pass-protecting left tackle in the game and he is a no-brainer, unanimous selection here.

Left Guard: Josh Sitton

Sitton and fellow guard T.J. Lang flipped positions during the 2013 offseason, moving Sitton from right to left after five years on the right side. In this decade, Sitton ended up playing an equal number of seasons on both sides for the Packers, but Lang’s longer tenure on the right side and Sitton’s two Pro Bowls on the left (compared to one on the right) leave him in this spot.

Center: Corey Linsley

After Scott Wells’ departure following the 2011 season, the Packers went through a bit of a transition period at center, with Jeff Saturday, Evan Dietrich-Smith, and JC Tretter all getting a run as either the starter or intended starter. But when Tretter was injured near the end of the 2014 preseason, Linsley — then a fifth-round rookie — stepped in, grabbed a hold of the job, and never looked back.

Save for a brief absence late in 2015 and a stint on the PUP list to start the 2016 season, he has been a solid, consistent pass-protector in the middle, probably deserving of Pro Bowl honors that have not yet come.

Right Guard: T.J. Lang

See Sitton above. Lang stepped into the starting lineup at left guard in 2011, starting there for two years before flipping for 2013 and spending four years in Green Bay on the right side, where he earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2016. The fourth player on the all-decade line who was either a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick, Lang helped bring some nasty to one of the best pass-protecting lines in the NFL throughout the middle part of the decade.

Right Tackle: Bryan Bulaga

Aside from Rodgers, Bulaga is the only first-round pick on the all-decade offense, coming to Green Bay with the 23rd selection in 2010. In his ten years with the Packers that spanned every year of the decade, he made 111 starts, all at right tackle. Bulaga missed all of the 2013 season with a torn ACL after an intended move to the left side, and sat out several games in 2012 and 2017 as well, but remains a top pass protector even heading into his age-31 season in 2020.

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Packers All-2010s Offense

QB: Aaron Rodgers*
RB: Aaron Jones
TE: Jermichael Finley*
WR: Jordy Nelson*
WR: Davante Adams*
FLEX: Randall Cobb*
LT: David Bakhtiari*
LG: Josh Sitton*
C: Corey Linsley*
RG: T.J. Lang*
RT: Bryan Bulaga*

*unanimous selection