We’re including one bonus player on our all-2000s offense to flesh out a little bit of versatility.
We now have the bulk of our offense decided upon for the Green Bay Packers’ All-Quarter Century Team. Here is the roster that you, our readers, have decided upon by your voting up to this point:
Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers
Running Back: Ahman Green
Fullback: William Henderson
Wide Receivers: Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver
Tight End: Jermichael Finley
Tackles: David Bakhtiari (LT), Mark Tauscher (RT)
Guards: Josh Sitton (LG), Josh Sitton (RG)
Center: Corey Linsley
That’s a full starting lineup, plus one player to account for the Packers’ use of both a fullback and three wide receivers. However, we are adding one extra position to our All-2000s Team offense, as we will be looking for an extra offensive weapon.
Here are our nominees for the final spot on our offense.
Offensive Weapon Nominees
Aaron Jones (RB, 2017-23)
1x Pro-Bowler
Regular season stats: 1,177 carries for 7,078 yards and 50 touchdowns (5.0 yards per carry); 272 receptions for 2,076 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns (7.6 yards per carry); 20 fumbles
Postseason stats: 104 carries for 511 yards and seven touchdowns (4.9 yards per carry); 24 receptions for 202 yards and one touchdown (8.4 yards per reception); two fumbles
A diminutive dynamo, Aaron Jones far outplayed his draft status, climbing from a day three pick in 2017 to become one of the Packers’ greatest offensive players in the 21st century, and maybe ever. Jones logged three 1,000-yard seasons in Green Bay, and while he never had the truly massive season Green did, he arguably did more with less. Jones’ three 1,000-yard seasons came on just 236, 201, and 213 carries, respectively. He averaged above 5.0 yards per carry four times in his Packers’ career, including a league-leading 5.5 per carry in 2018. He also led the league in rushing and overall touchdowns in 2019, scoring 16 times on the ground and 19 overall.
Jones was more than just a rushing weapon, however, as he was a consistent threat to catch the ball out of the backfield. Even more than that, the Packers often split him out wide as a receiver, where he was able to show off his hands and route-running ability on many occasions. Perhaps the most notable was in a 2019 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, a game that saw Davante Adams out with an injury. Jones caught seven passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns in that game, with one of those receptions being an 8-yard gain to move the chains after the two minute warning and allow the team to kneel out a victory.
Eddie Lacy (RB, 2013-16)
1x Pro Bowler, 2013 Offensive Rookie of the Year
Regular season stats: 788 carries for 3,435 yards and 23 touchdowns (4.4 yards per carry); 107 receptions for 947 yards and six touchdowns (8.9 yards per reception); eight fumbles
Postseason stats: 85 carries for 407 yards and one touchdown (4.8 yards per carry); 5 receptions for 19 yards (3.8 yards per reception); one fumble
Lacy offers something that no other Packer runner in recent history has: unmatched power. In his prime, no other Packers back could match the raw ferocity with which Lacy carried the ball. Just ask poor Robert Blanton what it was like to meet Lacy head on when he’d built up steam. For his prolific power and outstanding work carrying the load for the Packers while Aaron Rodgers was out with the first of two broken collarbones, Lacy was awarded the 2013 Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
Lacy is also underrated as a receiver, averaging nearly nine yards per catch over his Packers career. Adept on screens, Lacy took a couple of screen passes for long scores during the Packers’ outstanding 2014 season — though that year would end, in part, because Lacy and the Packers couldn’t seal the deal inside the five-yard line in the NFC Championship.
Randall Cobb (WR, 2011-18, 21-22)
1x Pro Bowl, PFWA All-Rookie Team
Regular season stats: 130 games played, 532 catches on 764 targets, 6,316 yards, 47 TDs
Postseason stats: 12 games played, 47 catches on 68 targets, 596 yards, 5 TDs
Randall Cobb burst onto the scene in an electric debut, tying the record for longest kickoff return in NFL history with 108 yards against the New Orleans Saints. He became one of Aaron Rodgers’ favorite targets, despite cracking 1000 receiving yards just once. After leaving the team in free agency and doing a tour of Texas for two years, Cobb was traded back to the Packers at the request of Rodgers, becoming the veteran leader to the next generation of young receivers on the team.
Cobb will make more appearances later on in this exercise when we get to special teams. But beyond his receiving contributions, he also lined up in the backfield with regularity. A true do-it-all weapon in college for Kentucky, Cobb was often asked to run jet sweeps and other gadget plays in addition to his work from the slot, and he racked up 60 carries and 353 yards on the ground during his Packers tenure. Perhaps surprisingly, he only attempted two passes while wearing Green and Gold.
Greg Jennings (WR, 2006-12)
2x Pro Bowl, PFWA All-Rookie Team
Regular season stats: 96 games played, 425 catches on 735 targets, 6,537 yards, 53 TDs
Postseason stats: 10 games played, 50 catches on 79 targets, 673 yards, 6 TDs
Greg Jennings became a starter for the Packers the day he was drafted and quickly made an impact, making the league’s All-Rookie team. He caught the 16-yard pass that gave Brett Favre the all-time record for TD passes, and also caught Aaron Rodgers’ first-ever TD pass. On the Packers’ way to victory in Super Bowl XLV, Jennings had 4 catches for 64 yards and 2 TDs. After his second contract with the Packers was up, Jennings went on to sign with the Minnesota Vikings in 2013.
While he did not provide the versatile run/pass threat that the players above did, Jennings’ contributions as one of the Packers’ top receivers throughout his 7-year tenure should earn him some consideration.
Tucker Kraft (TE, 2023-24)
Regular season stats: 34 games, 81 receptions on 110 targets, 1062 yards, 9 TDs
Postseason stats: 3 games, 10 receptions on 14 targets, 50 yards, 1 TDs
It might not be crazy to put another tight end on this squad, and Kraft’s last season-and-a-half earned him significant votes in that category last week. Among Packers tight ends this century, only Marcedes Lewis caught a higher percentage of targets, only Tom Crabtree has a higher yards per catch number than Kraft, and while everyone else on this list gives something away as a blocker or as a receiver, or simply due to health, Kraft is the total package. While not the blocking phenom that Lewis or Franks were, he’s far better than most on the list while also being maybe the best receiver? Whenever one graphs out similarity scores for Kraft, the only other names that really show up are George Kittle and Travis Kelce.
Bubba Franks (TE, 2000-08)
3x Pro Bowl
Regular season stats: 122 games, 262 receptions on 393 targets, 2347 yards, 32 touchdowns
Postseason stats: 8 games, 12 catches on 22 targets, 149 yards, 3 TDs
Finley got the TE spot on this team on the heels of his massive receiving chops; Franks could be a good choice as a TE2 for his in-line blocking and nose for the end zone. (Oh, and also maybe his arm?) Since the merger, there are only 17 players in NFL history who scored a touchdown on a higher percentage of their total receptions than Franks. Then again, Bubba, as his name would suggest, was also an excellent blocker (you don’t get to be a Bubba by hauling in 30-yard bombs down the seam), and perhaps it’s enough to simply note that the excellent blocker of the early 2000s was also a phenom around the end zone, and as a 3-time pro bowler, was recognized as such by his peers.
John Kuhn (FB, 2007-15)
3x Pro Bowl, 1x All-Pro, 1x Second-Team All-Pro.
Regular season stats: 139 Games, 601 yards on 196 carries, 15 TDs, 551 yards on 81 receptions, 8 TDs.
Postseason stats: 15 Games, 28 yards on 19 carries, 4 TDs, 115 yards on 17 receptions, 3 TDs
Let’s include Kuhn as a versatile weapon as well since he didn’t make the original squad, falling just short in the voting behind William Henderson. But Kuhn was a true throwback fullback in the days that the position was vanishing, serving as a short-yardage and goal-line rushing threat, a reliable safety valve receiver, and a quality blocker in the backfield (particularly as a pass protector).
In his Packers career, he had more than 600 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards, adding 23 touchdowns to the mix. We think it’s at least worth including him in consideration here.