Bold Predictions for Packers' 2021 NFL Season

With the offseason drama surrounding Aaron Rodgers out of the way, the Green Bay Packers can finally get back to doing what they are best at. 

The Packers are expected to once again be a contender for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and they are the overwhelming favorites to win the NFC North. 

Rodgers has most of his offensive weapons back, and there is a good chance that he will be in the Most Valuable Player discussion from Week 1 on. 

Green Bay has the opportunity to create separation between itself and the other NFC contenders right away with one of the more favorable schedules between a Week 3 trip to face the San Francisco 49ers and a Week 9 showdown at Arrowhead Stadium with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The Packers play four of their final six regular-season games at Lambeau Field. That stretch should aid itself to Rodgers, Aaron Jones and others putting up high offensive totals. 

Green Bay Enters Kansas City Clash at 8-0

Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press

The Week 9 showdown between the Packers and Chiefs will be one of the most anticipated clashes of the NFL regular season. 

A potential eight-game winning streak out of the Packers to start the season would only fuel the buildup to the November 7 clash. 

Green Bay has to navigate two tricky road trips in Weeks 1 and 3 against the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers, but both are manageable games. 

The Week 1 excursion into the Superdome is far less treacherous than it would have been in previous seasons with Drew Brees retired. The Packers catch the Saints at the perfect time since that will be the first game for the NFC South side's new starter and Michael Thomas may not be on the field. 

Green Bay went to San Francisco and beat the 49ers by 17 points by last season. Even if the 49ers improve, that road trip seems far less intimidating because of last year's result. 

The Packers face some potentially difficult games from Weeks 4-8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, but they have one of the best advantages in football with Rodgers, Jones and Davante Adams terrorizing opposing defenses. It will take a special defensive performance to keep all three players at bay. 

Green Bay also has to play the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Washington Football Team and Cincinnati Bengals in the first eight weeks. All of those games could be double-digit routs. 

If the Packers get past Kansas City, they have a chance to go into their Week 13 bye undefeated since the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams both have to come to Lambeau Field. 

Aaron Jones Eclipses 1,800 Total Yards

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

Our expectations for the top running backs have to change with the 17th game added to the regular season.

Aaron Jones has the potential to eclipse 1,800 total yards in 2021, a total that would be deemed unreachable for most running backs in 16-game campaigns. 

In 2020, Jones recorded 1,459 total yards. He set a single-season career best with 1,104 rushing yards, but he suffered a decrease in receiving yards from 474 to 355. 

Jones should be much closer to the 474 receiving yards he hauled in during the 2019 season since Jamaal Williams exited the team for the Detroit Lions.

A.J. Dillon will be expected to take over Williams' snaps, but he may not be as effective in the passing game right away. That would lead to more reliance on Jones out of the backfield. Williams caught 31 of 35 targets for 236 yards last season. 

If Jones' receiving production matches his 2019 output and he soars over the 1,000-yard mark on the ground, he could make a strong run at 1,800 total yards. 

Green Bay's favorable schedule from Week 12 on should aid Jones' pursuit of that number. The Packers leave Wisconsin twice in that span, and one of those trips is to Detroit. 

If Jones is performing at a high clip prior to the Week 12 clash with the Rams, he will have a Week 13 bye and little travel stress on his legs to chase a mark that should be attainable for the top running backs over the course of 17 games. 

Preston Smith Finishes Inside Top 5 in Sacks

Matt Ludtke/Associated Press

The Packers have two candidates to finish inside the top five in sacks this season.

Preston Smith seems like the better choice to make that push at the moment since Za'Darius Smith is dealing with an injury that could keep him out of the season opener, per Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Za'Darius Smith led the Packers with 12.5 sacks in 2020, which was good enough for a tie for fourth in the league standings alongside Haason Reddick.

Preston Smith was in that echelon of defensive players in 2019, when he produced 12 sacks over 16 games. His production took a major hit last season as he delivered four quarterback takedowns. 

If Preston Smith reverts back to the form he was in two years ago, he could once again be one of the top sackers in the game. 

Preston Smith's potential could come with some skepticism because he experienced a significant drop off from 2019 to 2020, but parts of the schedule set up for Green Bay to earn plenty of high defensive totals. 

The closing stretch against Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, Minnesota and Detroit could be where Smith finishes off a fantastic campaign. 

Smith should also take some motivation from going head-to-head with some of the game's best pass-rushers throughout the season. He will have the chance to outplay T.J. Watt, Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett. 

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.