With the 2022 NFL Draft in the books, everyone is examining the players their teams drafted.
For Green Bay Packers fans, they have little to complain about.
They had two first-round picks they used on defensive players.
However, as talented as those players are, and the impact they’ll make on defense, they made one mistake.
They neglected to draft a skill player in the first round.
But for Aaron Rodgers, he has one thing to say for Packers fans upset they passed on a first-round receiver.
Rodgers on @PatMcAfeeShow
“I’m sure Packers nation will be wondering why we didn’t take a receiver or trade up. At this point you just have to have faith in the org…Whoever we bring in tomorrow & the rest of this draft, I’m going to put in the time to work w those guys.”— Adriana Torres (@TorresAdrianaTV) April 29, 2022
He wants fans to have faith in the Packers’ front office and their decision, after they traded away Rodgers’ number one receiver.
But how can they have faith when Rodgers’ best receiver is on another team in 2022?
Rodgers Needs A True Number One Receiver To Stay Relevant In 2022
Year after year Rodgers gets into the playoffs.
However, it’s comes with him relying on Davante Adams to make him look his best.
But 2022 won’t see Rodgers to Adams touchdown passes anymore.
Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams for the win…
What a time to be alive. pic.twitter.com/hW182Qb5ed
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) April 10, 2022
Those game-winning spectacular catches are now gone for the star quarterback.
He now has Randall Cobb and Amari Rodgers as his remaining receivers from 2021.
Amari is one of the younger receiving stars on the team, while Cobb is 31 and aging.
Cobb only had one 1,000-plus receiving season, coming in 2014.
Amari only had 166 yards on 20 catches in 2021, his rookie season.
Without a consistent 1,000-plus-yard receiver, Rodgers’ numbers will suffer in 2022.
If you don’t believe that, you haven’t looked at Adams’ impact on Rodgers’ consecutive MVP seasons.
Adams Made Rodgers A Back-To-Back MVP Quarterback
Replacing Adams won’t be easy for Green Bay, as the receiver made Rodgers a consecutive MVP player.
And I know he just won an mvp but it was more of a safe season. He had a good line and he had Jones helping take pressure off. He has no one legit to throw to beyond Adams, but Rodgers just doesn’t have the mobility anymore that truly made him great when out of the pocket.
— Ryan (@BaseballGuyRyan) February 9, 2021
His 123 receptions in 2021 accounted for one-third of the star quarterback’s completions.
That’s a slight increase from his 30% rate in 2020.
His 1,553 receiving yards in 2021 accounted for 37.7% of the MVP quarterback’s passing yards.
It’s an increase from his nearly 32% rate in 2020.
But the most important one is touchdowns.
Adams’ 11 touchdowns in 2021 accounted for just under 30% of Rodgers’ passing touchdowns.
This rate was down from his 37.5% of all touchdowns in 2020.
However, it means that Adams was the primary target and playmaker in 2020 and 2021 for Green Bay’s offense.
It also gave the Packers quarterback all he needed to win two MVP titles.
Without him in Green Bay, those MVP hopes go away with him.
Rodgers Is Now Mostly Left With Unproven Players At Receiver
While the four-time MVP quarterback is fine with the Packers not trading up for a receiver, he might regret saying that.
Cobb is his only proven receiver, but yet not a top-tier receiver.
However, the Packers drafted three new receivers for him going into 2022.
They weren’t the best in the draft, but they were the best available in with the picks Green Bay used on them.
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure are the new receivers for Rodgers in 2022.
While Green Bay traded up for Watson, his upsides might come with a downfall.
His biggest hold back is his route running skills, something he needs to improve if he wants to help Rodgers.
NEXT: Packers Still Refuse To Draft A Young Star For Aaron Rodgers