Green Bay Packers Team of the Decade: 2010s

The Green Bay Packers had a great amount of success in the 2010s. Green Bay won a Super Bowl and made four trips to the NFC championship game, so naturally, there are some pretty impressive names on this list. Since this is a decade team, this list is about what they did during the decade with the Packers – not just overall talent.

QUARTERBACK: Aaron Rodgers

Not a particularly tough choice for this one. He started the 2010s by leading the Packers to their fourth Super Bowl victory in franchise history, then added two MVP awards and finished the decade with eight winning seasons. Rodgers threw for over 4,000 yards six times in the decade, had a passer rating over 100 six times and had five seasons when he threw more than 30 touchdowns. Rodgers has a case as the NFL’s best quarterback in the decade.

RUNNING BACK: Eddie Lacy

Considering the recent success of Aaron Jones, this selection was a bit surprising when going through the statistics. But the stats don’t lie and Lacy was the only Packer back to have two seasons with over 1,100 yards rushing — 1,178 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2013 and 1,139 yards and nine scores the following year. Jones had 1,084 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2019, so he has a chance to end up a greater Packer player, but Lacy takes the cake in the 2010s.

WIDE RECEIVER: Jordy Nelson

Nelson was an absolute monster for the Packers. In seven seasons with the Packers in the decade, Nelson had four seasons with over 1,200 receiving yards. He was a touchdown machine, too, with 15 receiving scores in 2011, 13 in 2014 and a league-leading 14 TDs in 2016.

WIDE RECEIVER: Randall Cobb

Cobb was with Green Bay from 2011-18 and had his best campaign in 2014 when he recorded 1,287 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He racked up 954 yards and eight scores in 2012, but beyond those seasons he was mostly a reliable second option for Rodgers.

TIGHT END: Jermichael Finley

Although Finley’s career was cut short by injuries, he produced enough early in the decade to make this list. Finley, who was with the Packers from 2008-13, had his best season in 2011 when he recorded 767 receiving yards and eight scores, and followed that up in 2012 with 667 yards and two touchdowns.

LEFT TACKLE: David Bakhtiari

Bakhtiari has been the Packers’ starting left tackle since his rookie season in 2013 and his play has only improved since then. The former Colorado Buffalo has missed just six regular-season games in his career and was named a first-team All-Pro in 2018 and made the second team in 2016, 2017 and 2019. At 28 years old, Bakhtiari could easily be on the 2020s all-decade team if he sticks around in Green Bay.

GUARD: Josh Sitton

Sitton played both guard roles during his time with the Packers from 2008-15. Sitton only missed two regular-season games with the Packers in the decade and made All-Pro teams in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

CENTER: Corey Linsley

Linsley is the typical unsung hero on an offensive line. He has not made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, but he has been the Packers’ starting center since he was drafted in 2014.

GUARD: T. J. Lang

Lang played both right and left guard during his time donning green and gold. He joined the Packers in 2009, started from 2011-16 and made the Pro Bowl in 2016.

RIGHT TACKLE: Bryan Bulaga

Oh, how we’ll miss hearing “Bryan Bulaga, Iowa” during the start of every Sunday Night Football game. Bulaga, now a Los Angeles Charger, was an anchor on the right side of the line and while he never made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, Bulaga was a highly-rated offensive lineman. He will surely be missed in Green Bay.

DEFENSIVE END: Julius Peppers

Peppers’ best years in the NFL were with the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears, but he still had some gas in the tank during his time with Green Bay. In his three years with the Packers from 2014-16, Peppers finished with 7.0, 10.5 and 7.5 sacks, respectively, and made the Pro Bowl in 2015.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: B.J. Raji

Big No. 90 was the key presence in the interior of the defense for the Packers’ 2010 title run. Raji played all seven of his NFL seasons for Green Bay from 2009-15 and had his best season in 2010 with 6.5 sacks and 39 tackles. He followed that up with another strong year in 2011 and was rewarded with his first and only Pro Bowl appearance.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Mike Daniels

At six feet tall, Daniels does not have the prototypical height for an NFL defensive tackle, but that did not limit him on the field. He was drafted out of Iowa in 2012 and started to make an impact in his second season when he recorded 6.5 sacks and followed that up the next year with 5.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits. Daniels made the Pro Bowl in 2017 when he finished the season with 5.0 sacks, 49 tackles, 14 quarterback hits and a career-high ten tackles for loss.

DEFENSIVE END: Za’Darius Smith

This one is a little bit of a stretch since Smith is technically listed as an outside linebacker, but for the sake of this list he’ll be considered a defensive end (especially since DE has not been elite for Green Bay). Smith tallied 13.5 sacks in his first season with the Packers to go with 55 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 37 quarterback hits.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER: Clay Matthews

Not a tough choice here. Matthews made five Pro Bowl teams with the Packers in the decade and had three seasons in that span with over 10 sacks. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2010 when he finished with 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss.

INSIDE LINEBACKER: A. J. Hawk

After being drafted by Green Bay in 2006, Hawk manned the middle of the Packers’ defense for the first five years of the decade. Hawk was a force in 2010 with 111 combined tackles and three interceptions. He added four more solid years in green and gold, highlighted by his 2013 campaign when he finished with 118 combined tackles, 5.0 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER: Nick Perry

Perry was the epitome of a solid, dependable player with the Packers after he was selected in the first round in 2012. His best year came in 2016 when he had 52 combined tackles, 11.0 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and one interception – all of which were career highs.

CORNERBACK: Sam Shields

Shields signed by Green Bay in 2010 as an undrafted free agent and regularly saw the field until the 2016 season when he missed all but one game due to injury. Shields made the Pro Bowl in 2014 but was more productive in 2013 when he had career bests in tackles (51 solo) and passes defensed (16) and matched his career high with four interceptions.

STRONG SAFETY: Morgan Burnett

Burnett played eight seasons in Green Bay and was a consistent starter in the secondary. In his first full season of starting in 2011, Burnett had three interceptions and 11 passes defensed, both of which are career bests. He was mainly a tackling machine, with 94 solo tackles in 2014 and had three seasons with 100 or more combined tackles.

FREE SAFETY: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix

Clinton-Dix has the best name on this list and was the best Packers’ free safety in the decade. His time in Green Bay was cut short when he was traded to the Washington Redskins in October 2018, but he still managed to intercept 14 passes as a Packer. His best year was in 2016 when he picked off five passes, made 80 combined tackles and had seven passes defensed. He made the 2016 Pro Bowl was named a second-team All-Pro.

CORNERBACK: Tramon Williams

Williams had two stints with the Packers, the first from 2006-14 and the second in 2018 and 2019. During his time with Green Bay in the 2010s, Williams picked off 20 passes and even had two interceptions last season at age 36. Williams made it to the Pro Bowl in 2010 when he had six interceptions, 20 passes defensed and 57 combined tackles.

KICKER: Mason Crosby

Crosby has been the only Green Bay kicker this decade. Need I say more?

PUNTER: Tim Masthay

Since Masthay and JK Scott have almost identical yards per punt averages (Masthay 44.2, Scott 44.3), Masthay gets the nod because he was on the team from 2010-15 and Scott has only been in the league for two seasons.