- Rodgers relies on a quick-release style: Due to mobility limitations in Year 22, Rodgers averaged a lightning-fast 2.58 seconds to throw last season, trailing only Jared Goff and Tua Tagovailoa for the quickest delivery in the league.
- Clean-pocket performance shows notable regression: Long considered an elite operator when protected, Rodgers’ 79.4 PFF grade from a clean pocket ranked 22nd out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks, while his depth of target from a clean pocket fell to a low of 6.0 yards.
- McCarthy brings proven schematic evolution to Pittsburgh: While the duo’s final season in Green Bay ranked near the bottom of the league in pre-snap motion, McCarthy’s subsequent offenses in Dallas ranked 12th in motion and 10th in under-center usage, highlighting his readiness to adapt.
Aaron Rodgers is officially back in the NFL and reunited with head coach Mike McCarthy, reuniting with Mike McCarthy nearly a decade after the pair helped deliver a Super Bowl title and eight top-10 scoring offenses in Green Bay.
For much of that run, McCarthy’s success was often framed as a byproduct of having one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Green Bay’s offensive system was rarely credited as the engine behind the franchise’s sustained success. Instead, McCarthy was frequently viewed as benefiting from Rodgers’ brilliance more than shaping it.
That perception was understandable to a degree. Rodgers built his reputation on pre-snap adjustments, off-script improvisation and impossible downfield throws. Some of the defining moments of his career — Hail Mary completions and scramble-drill highlights — felt detached from the scheme entirely.
The divide between coaching and quarterback talent only widened after McCarthy’s departure following the 2018 season. Rodgers later reestablished himself as one of the NFL’s elite passers under Matt LaFleur, winning his third and fourth MVP awards in his late 30s.
Now, McCarthy has his chance to flip the script. Aaron Rodgers is not the same quarterback he was during his prime years with the Packers. He’s coming off the lowest graded season of his NFL career, and now returns to the man who helped deliver four of his five highest-graded seasons.