The Green Bay Packers won Sunday, which means one thing: Aaron Rodgers had a productive day at the quarterback spot.
The two largely go hand-in-hand, and fantasy owners were likely thrilled with the performance of the passing game during the team’s 27-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Rodgers and James Jones connected for another touchdown, and Randall Cobb racked up more than 100 receiving yards.
Here is a look at their final tallies:
Rodgers is the closest thing to a no-brainer fantasy play as there is in the entire league. He is one of the NFL’s best players: He has complete control of the game thanks to a strong arm and the ability to scramble outside the pocket and make plays, and he regularly finds the open man instead of honing in on one receiver.
All he did was throw for 4,381 passing yards and 38 touchdowns last year. It was his fifth season with more than 4,000 passing yards and the third time in the last four years he’s had at least 38 touchdown tosses (the one time he didn’t was in 2013, when he played only nine games).
Now, Rodgers has Green Bay at 2-0 even without Jordy Nelson (knee), much to the delight of fantasy owners.
Star running back Eddie Lacy‘s ankle injury, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, will likely enhance Rodgers’ value moving forward because the Packers can use quick-hitting passes and screens as an extension of the running game until their star back returns. They did exactly that in the second half against Seattle, and Louis Riddick of ESPN noticed how successful it was against soft coverage:
Rodgers is always going to be one of the most expensive options in daily leagues (or in a preseason auction draft), but there is a reason for it. His production is nearly guaranteed regardless of the opponent, and he can anchor any fantasy squad as the potential MVP of the league this year.
As for Cobb, the absence of Nelson left him as the clear-cut No. 1 receiver on the Packers entering the season after he tallied career highs with 1,287 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches in 2014.
Cobb played the part of top pass-catcher perfectly Sunday against a formidable Seattle defense after he had only 38 yards in Week 1 (although he did catch a touchdown in the season-opening victory).
Cobb boasts the speed to create separation against corners and make plays in the open field, and he is shifty and explosive enough to turn four-yard underneath routes into touchdowns. What’s more, his 11 targets Sunday indicated Rodgers sees him as a security blanket as other key contributors fall to injury, especially since Davante Adams had five targets, the next-highest total for the Packers.
Rodgers’ No. 1 receiver is a lock for fantasy lineups throughout the season as well, and Sunday’s outing against the former “Legion of Boom” secondary did nothing to change that notion.
Jones did not dominate like he did in Week 1, but he managed to find the end zone on a 29-yard catch. That play salvaged what would have been a disappointing fantasy outing after his two touchdown catches in the opener.
Jones’ value is largely a byproduct of playing with Rodgers, especially since there is a familiarity in place from the seven seasons he played for the Packers before he tallied 666 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Oakland Raiders last year. One of those seven seasons in Green Bay saw Jones catch 14 touchdowns (2012).
Adams was a fantasy darling in many circles after Nelson went down with a season-ending knee injury because Cobb would likely draw coverage from opponents’ best corners, but Jones has thrived in that secondary receiver role with three touchdowns in two games.
The absence of Lacy could be a boost to the entire Packers receiving corps, including Jones, if they elect to keep the ball in the air. Green Bay notched 33 passes and 29 rushes Sunday, and that was after it jumped out to a double-digit lead by halftime (although Seattle came back in the third quarter before the Packers iced it).
The lack of consistent targets Sunday was scary for fantasy owners who are counting on Jones, but Green Bay will keep the ball in the air throughout the year. Some of those throws will find Jones’ hands (most likely in the end zone, given the way the first two weeks unfolded), which means he should still be in your lineup as a No. 2 receiver or flex option.
Jones is not the surefire lock that Rodgers or Cobb will be every week, but you should continue to play him until the touchdowns stop coming.
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