15 most improved Packers players from 2021 season
As is the case during most seasons, a big chunk of the overall improvement from the Green Bay Packers in 2021 came from the individual progression of several players, including both young players and veterans.
The improvements were biggest on defense, where the Packers got several standout performances from players that produced career-best seasons. Last season, significant progression from several offensive players helped create the NFL’s best offense. The defense didn’t deliver quite the same result this year.
Here’s a closer look at the most improved players from the 2021 season, using overall grades from Pro Football Focus as our guide:
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
2020 grade: 49.0
2021 grade: 86.0
Improvement: +27.0
Campbell had never graded out above 69.1 at PFF before arriving in Green Bay and producing a first-team All-Pro season in 2021. He missed only four total tackles, produced a career-high in total tackles and stops, and was one of the best inside linebackers both in run defense grade and coverage grade. Campbell went from replacement level to All-Pro in one incredible year. Now, the Packers must figure out how to keep him in Green Bay. His contract expires next month.
OLB Preston Smith
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
2020 grade: 55.5
2021 grade: 81.5
Improvement: +26.0
After producing only four sacks and 26 pressures in 2020, Smith returned to Green Bay on a restructured deal and created a career year. He produced nine sacks and a career-high 62 pressures, and his run defense grade was the highest of his career. Joe Barry asked him to drop into coverage only 40 times. His resurgent season should provide enough incentive for the Packers to find a way to keep him. Extending his deal is one way to do it.
OLB Rashan Gary
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
2020 grade: 68.1
2021 grade: 89.8
Improvement: +21.7
Gary ascended to stardom in his third NFL season. As a full-time player on the edge, he created 86 total pressures and 11.5 sacks over 17 games, including the playoffs. He was among the best edge rushers in both total pressures and win rate. This is often the most valuable type of improvement; teams build around young, talented players who emerge as legitimate difference-makers. Still only 24 years old, Gary is a foundational piece for the Packers defense.
CB Kevin King
Photo by Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK
2020 grade: 50.6
2021 grade: 71.0
Improvement: +20.4
Injuries limited King to just six starts through Week 11, and he was on the field for just nine snaps on average over the final five games. While he wasn’t a game-changer in coverage, the big mistakes mostly faded away, and he was terrific as a tackler (one missed tackle, eight stops). With Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes playing so well at cornerback, the Packers found creative ways of getting him on the field in various subpackages late in the season. King’s contract voids next month.
Green Bay Packers offensive guard Elgton Jenkins (74).
2020 grade: 66.9
2021 grade: 82.2
Improvement: +15.3
Jenkins’ 2020 grade always felt low, so this level of improvement into 2021 feels a little off. But there’s no doubt about it: Jenkins was terrific at left tackle over eight games. He gave up only 12 pressures and was a dominant player in the run game. His season ended when he tore his ACL in November. Will the Packers see him as a right tackle when both he and David Bakhtiari are healthy? He might be too good at tackle to play inside.
CB Rasul Douglas
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2020 grade: 60.2
2021 grade: 73.2
Improvement: +13.0
Douglas, who was acquired in October, created career-highs in coverage grade, interceptions and passer rating allowed. He wasn’t a terrible player over 821 snaps with the Carolina Panthers last season, so his improvement wasn’t necessarily drastic. A few elite performances, including an incredible two-game stretch against the Bears and Rams, propelled Douglas to new heights in 2021. Quarterbacks had a passer rating of 51.7 when testing him in coverage. Will the Packers have enough money to keep him in Green Bay for 2022?
G Jon Runyan
(AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)
2020 grade: 54.0
2021 grade: 64.6
Improvement: +10.6
Runyan played only 151 snaps as a rookie, but he became a full-time starter at left guard in 2021 and thrived, especially as a pass-blocker. He allowed only two sacks and 21 pressures over 672 pass-blocking snaps. His run-blocking grade hovered in the 50-range all season, suggesting the need for more improvement entering Year 3. Runyan could be a high-level starter if he takes another step in 2022.
LB Krys Barnes
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2020 grade: 43.0
2021 grade: 52.7
Improvement: +8.7
Barnes was a better player in coverage in 2021, leading to most of his overall improvement as a second-year linebacker. He still struggled against the run and missed 13 tackles, six more than his rookie season. Barnes has to be considered a replacement-level player entering Year 3, but his improvement in 2021 is a reason for optimism. He needs another big jump in 2022.
RB A.J. Dillon
(AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
2020 grade: 78.3
2021 grade: 86.9
Improvement: +8.6
Dillon tripled his number of snaps and went from 48 touches as a rookie to 221 in Year 2. He led the team in rushing yards (803) and finished with the second-highest overall grade among running backs at PFF. Dillon forced 31 missed tackles as a runner and averaged 3.14 yards after first contact, while also catching 34 of 37 targets. The running back combination of Dillon and Aaron Jones is one of the best in football and one of the best in recent Packers history.
TE Marcedes Lewis
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
2020 grade: 66.9
2021 grade: 75.1
Improvement: +8.2
Lewis improved in all areas from 2020, at least in terms of PFF’s receiving, pass-blocking and run-blocking grades. He caught 24 passes for 214 yards, both highs since arriving in Green Bay in 2018. The veteran didn’t have a drop or a penalty. He’s been one of the best and most consistent run-blocking tight ends in football over the last three years. Will the Packers bring him back for another run in 2022?
DL Dean Lowry
Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports
2020 grade: 60.0
2021 grade: 66.6
Improvement: +6.6
His improvement overall in PFF’s grades wasn’t huge, but his uptick in production certainly was, especially as a pass-rusher. Lowry went from creating 21 pressures in 2020 to a career-high 42 in 2021. He also batted down a career-high five passes. Lingering issues defending the run kept Lowry’s improvement from being one of the team’s best.
RB Aaron Jones
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33).
2020 grade: 75.6
2021 grade: 82.1
Improvement: +6.5
Despite a slight reduction in rushing yards and total yards in 2021, Jones was largely the same player as both a runner and receiver. His biggest improvement came as a pass-blocker. Over 51 pass-blocking snaps, Jones gave up just two hurries. He allowed a sack and five pressures over 43 pass-blocking snaps last season. Overall, he finished as the sixth-highest graded running back in the NFL in 2021.
OLB Jonathan Garvin
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2020 grade: 53.5
2021 grade: 59.6
Improvement: +6.1
Garvin produced 25 total pressures and nine games with multiple pressures over 396 total snaps during his second season. Not bad for a seventh-round pick who is still 22 years old. Garvin wasn’t effective on a down-to-down basis, especially against the run, and he needs to improve more overall going into Year 3, but he provided some flashes. Another year working with Mike Smith could help turn him into a capable role player in 2022.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
(AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2020 grade: 60.6
2021 grade: 66.1
Improvement: +5.5
His production went down – mostly the result of two different injuries – but he didn’t drop a single pass on 48 targets or have a fumble as a ball-carrier, leading to a big improvement in PFF’s “drop” and “fumble” grade. In Year 4, Valdes-Scantling eliminated the negative plays. The Packers want him back in 2022.
OT Yosh Nijman
Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Yosh Nijman (73)
2020 grade: 61.4
2021 grade: 63.1
Improvement: +1.7
The improvement in overall grade doesn’t necessarily reflect how much better Nijman got as a player in 2021. After playing only15 offensive snaps in 2020, he started eight games and played extensively in two others in 2021. He was nothing if not effective (66.9 grade, 20 pressures allowed) as a pass-blocker over 356 pass-blocking snaps. Improvement might be required in the run game, but Nijman has the look – and now the experience – of a starter. At the very least, he’s proven himself capable of being a valuable swing tackle.
Others
(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
LB Oren Burks (+25.1): His overall defensive grade was just 28.1 in 2020, so there was nowhere to go but up. He still played at a replacement level over 211 snaps at inside and outside linebacker in 2021 and isn’t expected to be back in 2022.
TE Tyler Davis (+16.5): He only played 40 (mostly ineffective) snaps in Jacksonville as a rookie. His run-blocking grades were strong over 132 total snaps in Green Bay.
OLB Tipa Galeai (+12.0): The second-year edge rusher was effective against the run and in coverage over 159 total snaps. He was particularly good in the season finale in Detroit. His arrow is pointed up entering Year 3.
OLB Whitney Mercilus (+8.0): This represents his improvement from his first six games in Houston to his final five games in Green Bay in 2021. The veteran produced 10 pressures over 83 pass-rushing snaps with the Packers.
RT Dennis Kelly (+6.6): The veteran right tackle played most of the snaps over the final five games and improved significantly as a pass-blocker, at least compared to his work as a full-time starter in Tennessee in 2020.
TE Dominique Dafney (+5.1): He did little in the passing game, but his grades as a blocker – especially in the run game – skyrocketed in 2021. As a move tight end in this scheme, he has real value.
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