7 Green Bay Packers players selected for 2021 Pro Bowl

By: CBS 58 Sports

Posted: Dec 21, 2020 6:11 PM CDT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Green Bay Packers announced Monday, Dec. 21, seven members of the team were named to the Pro Bowl roster.

Packers WR Davante Adams, CB Jaire Alexander, T David Bakhtiari, G Elgton Jenkins, RB Aaron Jones, QB Aaron Rodgers and LB Za’Darius Smith have were selected. It is the most original selections for the Packers since seven players were selected in 2011. Six of the players were named starters (all but Jones), giving Green Bay the most starter selections since it had eight in 1967.

#Packers have 7️⃣ players selected to the 2021 #ProBowl!

?: https://t.co/fv4ZLGSwAf #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/ZUCuOvB9mx
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 22, 2020

This marks Adams’ fourth straight selection (2017-20), making him only the second Packers WR to make four-plus consecutive Pro Bowls (James Lofton, six in a row from 1980-85). Adams’ four career selections are tied for the third most by a WR in franchise history, trailing Sterling Sharpe (five) and Lofton (seven). Adams leads the league in receptions per game (8.2) and receiving yards per game (98.8) and ranks No. 2 in receiving TDs (14). Despite missing two games due to injury, he also ranks in the top 10 in receptions (98, t-No. 4), receiving yards (1,186, No. 7) and 100-yard games (six, t-No. 3).

Alexander earns his first Pro Bowl honor in his third NFL season, becoming the first Packers cornerback selected since Sam Shields in 2014. He is one of three cornerbacks in franchise history to make the Pro Bowl in his first three seasons, joining Herb Adderley (1963, third season) and Willie Buchanon (1973, second season). Alexander has started every game this season and is tied for the team lead in passes defensed (nine) and No. 2 on the team in interceptions (one). According to Sportradar, he ranks No. 7 in the NFL (min. 500 def. snaps) with a 52.5 burn percentage, which is defensive completions (burns) over defensive targets.

Bakhtiari earns his third trip to the Pro Bowl and his second straight as an original selection. The four-time All-Pro selection by The Associated Press (2016-19) was joined as a Pro Bowl starter by Jenkins, who earned his first selection after becoming the first Green Bay offensive lineman to start a game at guard, center and tackle (LG, C, RT) in the same season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Jenkins is the third Packers offensive lineman (Deral Teteak as a rookie in 1952 and Charley Brock in his second year in 1940) to make the Pro Bowl in their first two seasons. Both Bakhtiari and Jenkins have helped block for an offense that ranks No. 1 in time of possession (32:45), No. 3 in points per game (31.0), No. 4 in total net yards per game (390.0), No. 2 in yards per play (6.18), No. 5 in passing yards per play (7.66) and No. 5 in sacks per pass attempt (3.98). They are part of a line that has only given up 19 sacks this season, tied for the fourth fewest in the NFL, and leads the league with a QB pressure percentage of 13.5 (percentage of passing plays in which a QB was sacked, hurried or knocked down), according to Sportradar.

Jones earns his first Pro Bowl selection in his fourth season. Dating back to 2000, he is just the third Packer running back to be selected to the Pro Bowl (Ahman Green, 2001-04 and Eddie Lacy, 2013). Despite missing two games, Jones ranks No. 4 in the NFL with 968 rushing yards as he looks for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Among running backs, his 1,266 yards from scrimmage rank No. 5 and his 10 total touchdowns are tied for No. 5 in the NFL. Jones is the first player in franchise history to have three games in a season with 130-plus rushing yards and a rushing TD on 20 or fewer carries and is just the fourth NFL player to do so since the merger (Garrison Hearst, 1998; Barry Sanders, 1996; Franco Harris, 1972).

For Rodgers, it marks the ninth Pro Bowl selection of his career (2009, 2011-12, 2014-16, 2018-20), tying Brett Favre and T Forrest Gregg for the for the most Pro Bowl selections by a Packer. Rodgers leads the league in passer rating (118.0), passing touchdowns (40) and fewest interceptions thrown (four, min. 350 pass att.). He has nine games this season with three-plus TD passes and zero INTs, the most in a season in NFL history (Rodgers in 2014 and Tom Brady in 2007 both had eight). Rodgers has tied an NFL single-season mark with 10 games with a 100-plus rating and three-plus TD passes (Brady, 2007; Rodgers, 2011; Patrick Mahomes, 2018). Rodgers became the first QB in NFL history to throw multiple TD passes and post a completion percentage of 70-plus in six straight games (Weeks 9-14)

Smith is making his second career Pro Bowl and first as an original selection after being an injury replacement last season. He is the first Packer defender to earn a selection in consecutive years since LB Clay Matthews in 2014-15. Smith ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in sacks (11.5, No. 4), tackles for a loss (12, t-No. 7) and QB hits (22, No. 9). He matched the longest streak in team history with back-to-back seasons with 11-plus sacks (13.5 in 2019) and is the first to do so since DE Aaron Kampman (2006-07). Smith has posted the most sacks by a player in his first two seasons with the Packers (25.0) as he moved past Matthews (23.5 in 2009-10).

Congrats!