Player Spotlight - Aaron Rodgers
The next best thing to cheese Curds and beer?

Jared Smith
March 9, 2008
FantasyInsiderS.com

It's only been four short days since the official announcement of former Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre and from what I've heard inside of Wisconsin, it's the most talked about topic since Strange Brew hit the cinema. I can also tell you that Bret Favre wasn't the only one crying on Thursday morning during his press conference. You could hear the whining from Wisconsin as far away as Texas!

But is drowning our sorrows in a pint of Leinenkugel's really necessary? Let's take a look from a fantasy football perspective on how this truly impacts us in 2008. Who is this number twelve? This shaggy kid with a golden bear arm…

Aaron Rodgers was drafted 24th overall in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. The only quarterback taken ahead of him was Alex Smith (first overall by the 49ers). First off, most experts agreed that he slipped far lower then expected in a very deep draft that provided a plethora of talent by the likes of Shawn Marriman, Demarcus Ware, and Braylon Edwards to name a few. Many scouts proclaimed there really wasn't a need for a quarterback in 22 of the 23 picks ahead of Green Bay and had noted he lacked the ideal height (6-2) to play his position. Whatever the reason, he slipped to the Packers at pick 24 in the first round.

*It should be noted that Brett Favre is also only 6-2.

Since that time, Rodgers has waited patiently for playing time and learned from arguably the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Just last year he was called upon when Favre went down with an injury against the Dallas Cowboys in week 13. Rodgers came in during the 2nd quarter and finished the game with 18-26 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown. To my amazement, the kid looked solid. He moved very well in the pocket. Made quick accurate reads, and put the ball in the hands of his playmakers and stepped back.

Let's keep in mind that the Green Bay Packers are a relatively young team on offense and defense. They have a young potent offense with a new quarterback who's been in the same system for 3 years now and again he's learned from the best quarterback to ever put on a Green Bay helmet. The Packers also have a very well rounded offense with a solid running back and talented wide receivers. They do lack a quality tight end in my opinion but I expect this area to be remedied by the start of training camp.