Packers Wire recently unveiled the ultimate Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers team featuring the best players from the era (1992-2022) of the two legendary quarterbacks.
Now, it’s time for competition. Favre vs. Rodgers. Which quarterback had the better era in Green Bay?
First, some (remarkably close) numbers. Between 1992 and 2007, Favre’s Packers were 161-95 in the regular season (.629, first in NFL) and 12-10 playoffs (second-most wins). Between 2008 and 2022, Rodgers’ Packers were 153-87-2 (.636, second) and 11-10 playoffs (tied third for wins).
Both teams won a Super Bowl: Favre’s Packers won Super Bowl XXXI, Rodgers’ Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV.
Favre’s Packers won seven NFC Central or NFC North titles and went to four NFC title games (2-2); Rodgers’ Packers won eight division titles and went to five NFC title games (1-4).
Which quarterback had the better teams and more talent around them?
Let’s dive into the 53-player teams for the era of Favre and the era of Rodgers, position-by-position. Determining a winner between the two teams is up to you.
Quarterbacks
All-Brett Favre
1. Brett Favre
2. Mark Brunell
3. Matt Hasselbeck
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Matt Flynn
3. Jordan Love
Rodgers, by almost any statistical measure, was the better Packers quarterback, while Favre, by almost any intangible measure, was the most important Packers quarterback, making it incredibly tough to pick between the two. Favre never missed a start, but many of his backups went on to become successful starters elsewhere, including Brunell and Hasselbeck. Love’s opportunity to be the successor in Green Bay could certainly change the look of this head-to-head matchup years down the road.
Running backs
All-Brett Favre
1. Ahman Green
2. Dorsey Levens
3. Edgar Bennett
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Aaron Jones
2. Ryan Grant
3. Eddie Lacy
Green, a truly dominant player over a half-decade, stands above all the rest at running back, even if Jones is an underrated star and Lacy once stood, ever so briefly, at the edge of stardom. Levens and Bennett hold the edge over Grant and Lacy in terms of total yards and impact. James Starks, a key member of the Super Bowl XLV run who ranks 16th among Packers players in yards from scrimmage between 1992 and 2022, just missed the cut for the Rodgers era.
Fullbacks
All-Brett Favre
1. William Henderson
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. John Kuhn
Both eras had a terrific fullback. Henderson and Kuhn were both Pro Bowlers and All-Pros, but voters on the All-Favre and Rodgers team picked Henderson over Kuhn, and it wasn’t particularly close. Each fullback could do it all the position, including catch the ball. Henderson more than doubled Kuhn’s total yards (2,835 to 1,158), but Kuhn scored more touchdowns (23 to 19).
Wide receivers
All-Brett Favre
1. Sterling Sharpe
2. Donald Driver
3. Antonio Freeman
4. Robert Brooks
5. Javon Walker
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Davante Adams
2. Jordy Nelson
3. Greg Jennings
4. Randall Cobb
5. James Jones
6. Christian Watson
Two incredible groups of pass-catchers. Production-wise, the All-Rodgers team is the winner, but the talent is fairly even. Favre’s group got decimated by injury. We debated adding a sixth receiver for the Favre era: Bill Schroeder was 18th among Packers in yards from scrimmage between 1992-2022, had three excellent seasons (1999-01) and caught 20 total touchdowns from Favre. The Rodgers era eventually got a sixth: Watson — even as a rookie — flashed legitimate star power for Rodgers. The guess here is that, years down the road, the inclusion of Watson will look prudent. Who had the better receivers? Good luck picking.
Tight ends
All-Brett Favre
1. Mark Chmura
2. Bubba Franks
3. Keith Jackson
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Jermichael Finley
2. Donald Lee
3. Robert Tonyan
4. Marcedes Lewis
Finley was the most athletic and most talented player on the list, but it’s hard to argue against what Favre had the tight end position, especially during his prime. Picking Rodgers’ tight ends was a difficult task. Lee’s best season came with Favre in 2007, but he played in more games with Rodgers. We went with Tonyan (11 touchdowns in 2020) and Lewis (excellent run-blocking tight end) over Jared Cook, Jimmy Graham and a host of other middling or aging players, but this is just a poor position for the Rodgers era.
Offensive line
All-Brett Favre
OT: Chad Clifton
OT: Mark Tauscher
OG: Marco Rivera
OG: Mike Wahle
C: Frank Winters
Backups: Earl Dotson, Mike Flanagan, Adam Timmerman, Ken Ruettgers
All-Aaron Rodgers
OT: David Bakhtiari
OT: Bryan Bulaga
OG: Josh Sitton
OG: T.J. Lang
C: Corey Linsley
Backups: Elgton Jenkins, Scott Wells, Daryn Colledge
Not much debate to be had here. Rodgers’ peak offensive line wins convincingly over Favre’s, and Rodgers has the best backup (Jenkins). Bakhtiari and Sitton were likely the best two linemen of the two eras. The Favre offensive line is excellent, but Rodgers consistently had elite players in front of him.
Defensive linemen
All-Brett Favre
1. Gilbert Brown
2. Santana Dotson
3. Cullen Jenkins
4. Cletidus Hunt
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Kenny Clark
2. Mike Daniels
3. Ryan Pickett
4. B.J. Raji
Jenkins playing more of his career with Favre might tip the scales here, even if Clark is probably the best player of the two groups. Neither era had great interior defensive linemen in terms of depth. Fun question: Who was the better duo? Brown and Dotson, or Clark and Daniels?
Edge rushers
All-Brett Favre
1. Reggie White
2. Aaron Kampman
3. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
4. Vonnie Holliday
5. Sean Jones
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Clay Matthews
2. Julius Peppers
3. Za’Darius Smith
4. Rashan Gary
5. Preston Smith
There’s no wrong answer here, although picking against Reggie White feels wrong. The Rodgers era might get dinged for the relatively short stints of Peppers and Za’Darius Smith. In their primes, Matthews, Peppers, Za’Darius Smith and Gary were elite, game-wrecking players.
Linebackers
All-Brett Favre
1. Nick Barnett
2. Wayne Simmons
3. George Koonce
4. Bernardo Harris
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. A.J. Hawk
2. De’Vondre Campbell
3. Desmond Bishop
No contest here and a clear win for Favre, even if Campbell and Bishop did each have one outstanding season each. Barnett and Hawk are a wash, and Favre’s era had more depth at inside linebacker.
Cornerbacks
All-Brett Favre
1. Al Harris
2. Tyrone Williams
3. Craig Newsome
4. Mike McKenzie
5. Doug Evans
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Charles Woodson
2. Jaire Alexander
3. Tramon Williams
4. Sam Shields
5. Casey Hayward
A win for the Rodgers era. No disrespect to Harris, but Woodson, Alexander and Tramon might be the three best corners of the Favre-Rodgers era. Shields was a Pro Bowler and Hayward — after several good seasons in Green Bay — emerged as an elite perimeter corner.
Safeties
All-Brett Favre
1. LeRoy Butler
2. Darren Sharper
3. Eugene Robinson
4. George Teague
All-Aaron Rodgers
1. Nick Collins
2. Adrian Amos
3. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
4. Micah Hyde
Butler is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and Sharper would have a compelling case if not for his heinous criminal acts off the field. While Collins was an elite player, Amos had four excellent seasons and Clinton-Dix made a Pro Bowl, the Rodgers era lacked consistently good safety play.
Special teams
All-Brett Favre
K: Ryan Longwell
P: Craig Hentrich
LS: Rob Davis
KR: Roell Preston
PR: Desmond Howard
All-Aaron Rodgers
K: Mason Crosby
P: Tim Masthay
LS: Brett Goode
KR: Keisean Nixon
PR: Will Blackmon
Tough call here. Howard produced maybe the greatest return season of all-time in 1996, while Crosby is the team’s all-time leader in just about every kicking category. Blackmon was incredible during the first year of the Rodgers era; Nixon was incredible during the last year. Opponents would be more frightened of the Favre era specialists, right?
Pick a winner!
Time to pick a winner. Who had the better era? Vote below, either on the site or on Twitter (voting closes on Twitter within seven days of publish):
Make the pick: All-Brett Favre era #Packers team or All-Aaron Rodgers era #Packers team?
— The Packers Wire (@ThePackersWire) July 10, 2023
