Green Bay Packers: Passing supporting cast gets worst ranking possible

Pro Football Focus previewed the Green Bay Packers roster before training camp and the passing game was a main point of emphasis.

The Green Bay Packers’ passing game was given a “tier 4” ranking by Pro Football Focus in terms of supporting cast, which grades out as the lowest tier possible. PFF has been previewing each NFL team before the onslaught of training camp.

PFF is largely known for their unbiased grading system, which looks at players from an analytical perspective rather than pure stat lines. The PFF team also does an excellent job of scouting players who may be less popular or unheralded among the general public.

In their Packers team preview, the article states that the supporting cast metric measures players’ performances independent of their quarterback. Through using their own grading system, PFF was then able to piece together a comprehensive tier-based system, in which tier 1 is the best and tier 4 is the worst.

Although the Packers’ supporting cast in the passing game was given a tier 4 grade, the overall supporting cast of the entire team was given a tier 2 grade.

PFF cites the Packers’ inability to move the ball on offense without Rodgers last season as the main reason for the tier 4 ranking. They also mention Green Bay’s offense was ranked third by their metrics with Rodgers in 2016, but fell to 18th without him last season.

Clearly the Packers are a better team with Rodgers on the field, but it seems like PFF isn’t giving his receivers enough credit. Although the team lost Jordy Nelson to the Raiders this offseason — by their own account, no less — Green Bay still has one of the brightest young receivers in the league in Davante Adams.

Adams posted exceptional numbers with Brett Hundley last season, finishing with 885 yards and 10 touchdowns in only 14 games. Packers fans will forever remember just how impressive of a feat it was when taking into account Hundley’s performances.

And, of course, we can’t forget about Randall Cobb, who once caught 91 balls for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns in a season. Factor in the signing of star tight end Jimmy Graham, and the Packers may not have that bad of a supporting cast after all.

With training camp firing up, we’ll soon have actual football to talk about. But until then, all we can do is speculate about how the Packers may perform in 2018. Assuming Rodgers is healthy all season, his receivers will undoubtedly perform at a higher level than a tier 4 ranking.