There wasn’t much for Packers fans to celebrate in 2022. The team, expected to contend for the Super Bowl, finished 8-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time under Matt LaFleur. Still, a handful of people deserve recognition for jobs well done.
The following four players and one assistant coach managed to shine in a season filled with more dark moments than highlights.
Offensive Player of the Year: RB Aaron Jones
It’ll be hard for fans to forget Jones’ critical fumble in the loss to Detroit that eliminated the Packers from the playoffs, but the season would’ve been over long before Week 18 had it not been for the superb all-around work of the veteran running back. At the age (28) when most players at his position are slowing down, Jones averaged 5.3 yards per carry behind a young and banged-up offensive line that struggled to find consistency. Despite standing only 5-foot-9 and weighing barely 200 pounds, the former UTEP star gained over 60% of his yards after contact. Jones also caught 59 passes for another 395 yards and five TDs. How valuable was he to the success of the team? He averaged 103 yards of offense in the eight wins and 77 yards in the nine losses. Unless the less likable Aaron (Rodgers) is traded and a total rebuild begins, GM Brian Gutekunst and executive VP/director of football operations Russ Ball would do well to find a way to keep Jones around.
Defensive Player of the Year: CB Jaire Alexander
Edge rusher Rashan Gary would’ve run away with this award had he not suffered a torn ACL in November. The fourth-year player from Michigan had six sacks and nearly 40 pressures in just over half a season. The defense needed others to step up without its most dynamic player, and Alexander met the challenge. After allowing four completions over 30 yards and a pair of TDs in his first 10 starts, the highest-paid cornerback in the league allowed only one completion over 30 yards and no TDs in his final six starts – a stretch that included complete domination of Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson in Week 17. He held the MVP finalist to one reception for 15 yards in a win that kept the Packers’ playoff hopes alive. Alexander also picked off a career-high five passes, had eight breakups, and his 60.6 passer rating against was fourth amongst corners who played at least 750 snaps. The 25-year-old was named to the All-Pro team for the second time in five seasons earlier this month.
Special Teams Player of the Year: KR Keisean Nixon
It’s still difficult to believe the first-team All-Pro sat behind Amari Rodgers until Halloween but once given a chance, Nixon was spectacular. Despite the late start, the former Raider led the league in yards (1,149) and recorded the Packers’ first touchdown on a kick return since Randall Cobb in September 2011. While Nixon obviously deserves plenty of credit – his size, speed, vision, and fearlessness are perfect for the job – props should also be given to special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia and some of the veteran players added by Gutekunst before and during the season. The schemes were more sophisticated, the blocking was better, and so was the effort. But Nixon was by far the biggest difference. He was so dangerous that Bisaccia, given the go-ahead by LaFleur, allowed the 25-year-old to bring back kicks that were almost out of the end zone. The Packers will now attempt to re-sign their best returner since Super Bowl 31 hero Desmond Howard.
Rookie of the Year: ILB Quay Walker
Christian Watson made the bigger splash, but there’s something to be said for being on the field. While the game-changing wide receiver played 507 snaps, Walker played 846. That’s the equivalent of about six more games. And while the former Georgia star was far from great, he held his own at a position that’s almost always a challenge for rookies. Some of the NFL’s top inside linebackers, including Devin White (Bucs), Patrick Queen (Ravens), and Tremaine Edmunds (Bills), weren’t any better than Walker in their first season. The 23-year-old had 121 total tackles, three forced fumbles, and 1.5 sacks and showed steady improvement in coverage. In fact, his passer rating against (93) was lower than perennial Pro Bowlers Demario Davis (Saints) and Fred Warner (49ers). The run game is where Walker struggled the most. He needs to be more physical and do a better job using his hands to shed blocks. Too many tackles came five yards past the line of scrimmage.
Comeback Player of the Year: LT David Bakhtiari
The five-time All-Pro had played a total of 27 snaps since the 2020 season when he returned against the Buccaneers in Week 3. It was almost as if he had never been away. While Bakhtiari wasn’t quite as proficient in protection or explosive in the run game as pre-injury, he quickly reestablished himself as the team’s best offensive lineman and one of the top handful of left tackles in the league. That’s pretty amazing for a 31-year-old coming off three surgeries on his left knee in the span of 18 months. There’s a lot of speculation regarding Bakhtiari’s future with the Packers, but it would be a surprise if he’s not back in 2023, regardless of who’s under center. As long as the medical staff feels confident that the knee won’t be a problem and the coaches are OK with a somewhat erratic practice schedule, there’s really no reason to weaken such a vital position, especially since moving on from the former Colorado star would save the team less than $6M in salary cap space.
Assistant Coach of the Year: STC Rich Bisaccia
The Packers probably paid Bisaccia more than the combined salaries of fellow coordinators Adam Stenavich and Joe Barry and at least seven position coaches. It was money well spent. While special teams ranked a mediocre 22nd in the NFL, that represented an improvement of 10 spots from 2021. More importantly, the 62-year-old brought professionalism to a phase of the game that often resembled amateur hour under Maurice Drayton, Shawn Mennenga, Ron Zook, Shawn Slocum, et al. Aside from sticking with Rodgers for way too long and having four kicks blocked, special teams came close to living up to its name. As mentioned earlier, Nixon was a revelation on returns, and the coverage units led by Rudy Ford, Eric Wilson, Dallin Leavitt, and Corey Ballentine were excellent despite Mason Crosby’s consistently short kickoffs. It’ll be interesting to see how long Bisaccia sticks around. He’s currently one of eight candidates to replace Frank Reich in Indy.
[yop_poll id=” 83″]
Kinda amazing that special teams finished 22nd in the league and Packer fans are thrilled. It shows how poorly that unit has played for so long.
By the end of the season it seemed that the ST as a whole was a top 10 unit. Hopefully Rich sticks around for another year or two.
While I appreciate the job Bisaccia has done and I truly hope he stays in GB, I wonder why the Packers stuck with Rodgers as a return man for so long? Who made that decision? Nixon played for Bisaccia as a Raider although I read he had never returned kicks or punts before. Did they just throw him out there out of desperation and found a hidden gem?
It sure seems as if the organization was determined to find something for Rodgers to do, so they stuck with him for way too long. I think they got lucky with Nixon. There really weren’t many decent options to replace Rodgers on returns, so they gave a backup with speed a chance, and it worked out great.
I can’t remember a year where every facet of the team was so cut-and-dried. Not mention competition – seems like the second guy for each of these would be a distant second, except possibly Watson, who I expect to be the best offensive player they have next year.
Good reminder about Walker and other rookies. Devin Lloyd was benched for part of the season, so it seems that Gutey did get the right guy and hopefully can take the next step and be a stalwart in the middle for the next decade.
It does seem, amazingly enough, that it does make sense that Bakh will return and Gutey said as much. Which frees up Tom to be a starter somewhere else along the line. Tom just doesn’t look like a RT. Maybe he’ll supplant Runyan? Gutey has to be thinking long and hard about whether Njiman can be the starter they need at RT. I could see that being the pick in the first two rounds. They really will need something more of an elite OL to be a good team next year.
Imagine hiring Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator a year after hiring Bisaccia. The Packers would have one of the best coaching staffs in the league. He’s out there, but LaFleur is sticking with Barry. This is when not having an owner or even a powerful GM really hurts the Packers. Somebody needs to tell LaFleur in no uncertain terms that hiring a good DC is more important than keeping a buddy around.