Green Bay Packers: 2021 Regular Season Superlatives
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Bounce-back candidate: Preston Smith
Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of players to choose from in this category because the Green Bay Packers were so good last season, but I do expect that Preston Smith rebounds from his down 2020 season. By all accounts, he looks much leaner and faster this summer than what he did a year ago.
Now, having said that, I don’t expect Smith to put up 62 pressures and 15 sacks as he did in 2019 — which was a career year for him — but it won’t be his 29 pressure, five sack performance from a year ago either. Somewhere in the middle will do just fine.
Don’t forget about: Kevin King
Some may want to forget about Kevin King, but he is going to be a key contributor to this defense this season. As I mentioned earlier, he is likely going to be CB2 to start this season until Eric Stokes can take that job from him.
King has certainly taken some lumps here in Green Bay — there’s no denying that — but it hasn’t been all bad either. There’s actually been more good than bad believe it or not. The key for him, as is always the case, is staying healthy. It’s not a coincidence that his best NFL season came in 2019 when he missed only one game.
While King may technically be “CB2,” Stokes is still going to see his fair share of playing time as well, meaning that King likely won’t see as many total snaps each game as he has in the past. This will hopefully help him stay healthy but also put him in a position to be successful more often.
King is going to be a part of this defense in 2021, so don’t forget about him just yet.
Breakout candidate: Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Marquez Valdes-Scantling totaled 690 receiving yards last season and led the NFL in yards per catch–so it’s not as if he’s coming out of nowhere. But overall, I expect him to take his game to a new level with more consistency and ways that LaFleur gets him the ball during games.
The reason that I feel this way is because of Valdes-Scantling’s performance in the NFC Championship Game where he hauled in 115 receiving yards and a touchdown. It’s those types of performances on the big stage that can take a player to a new stratosphere within their career.
By all accounts, that momentum has carried over to the preseason where reporters have raved about MVS — particularly his catching abilities — and Rodgers has talked about the confidence that he has in him.
A few of the popular picks for this category will be AJ Dillon and Rashan Gary — understandably so and I do agree — but I think that by the end of the season, many Packers fans will be looking at MVS in a different light. I don’t expect him to get to 1,000 yards by any means, but his overall game will be much improved.