Aaron Rodgers is one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. Despite his off-the-field antics and personal lifestyle choices, he undoubtedly belongs in the Hall of Fame and should be on anyone’s list of top 10 quarterbacks in NFL history. With one year left of his career, is there anything the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has to offer fantasy football managers?
Should You Draft Aaron Rodgers in Fantasy Football?
So much of the talk about Rodgers is about how great he used to be. And he was. From the moment he took over for Brett Favre in 2008, Rodgers was not just a fantasy QB1, but an elite QB1.
Rodgers averaged 18.1 fantasy points per game in his first season as a starter. That was his lowest PPG average until 2019. Over that span, he posted six seasons of 20+ PPG.
The streak came to an end in 2019, at which point Rodgers appeared to be declining. Sure enough, he bounced back hard in 2020 and 2021 with two of the best seasons of his career, 24.0 and 20.8 fantasy points.
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In 2021, Rodgers once again showed signs of decline with a career-worst 14.1 PPG. This time, it was for real.
Rodgers left Green Bay for the Jets in 2023, but infamously tore his Achilles on the fourth play of the season. He was able to return in 2024, but was a shell of his former self, averaging just 15.1 PPG. Last season, he chose to continue his career in Pittsburgh, but he was even worse, at just 14.2 PPG.
The real story of Rodgers’ decline can be told in his downfield passing. Even as recently as 2022, Rodgers was averaging a respectable 8.0 air yards per attempt. That fell to 6.2 in 2024 and 6.2 in 2025. By way of comparison, it was 8.8 back in 2016.
Rodgers has become a dink-and-dunk passer, either reluctant or unable to push the ball downfield. Modern NFL quarterbacks all have at least some modicum of mobility. In fact, Rodgers was kind of the paradigm for the modern QB well before rushing even became the norm. Prime Rodgers averaged around 18-20 rushing yards per game, tossing in a couple of rushing scores most seasons.
Rodgers hasn’t averaged 10.0 rushing yards per game this decade. Since leaving the Packers, he’s rushing for a grand total of 168 yards and one touchdown. That’s over the course of 33 games. Just 4.4% of his total fantasy points last season came from rushing. He has nothing left to offer in that department.
Rodgers’ Redraft Fantasy Football Value
Here are Rodgers’ finishes at quarterback in PPG over his last four seasons:
- 2022: QB21
- 2023: N/A
- 2024: QB19
- 2025: QB23
He did have a handful of usable weeks last season. Rodgers hit 16+ fantasy points seven times. In the right matchup, Rodgers is still a passable streaming option. And things should be better now that he’s reunited with Mike McCarthy and has a better set of pass catchers, with Michael Pittman Jr. as the WR2 and rookie Germie Bernard providing an upgrade at WR3.
Regardless, fantasy managers have no reason to draft Rodgers this season. His ADP is around QB28. He won’t be drafted in any single-QB leagues.
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In Superflex, Rodgers is a great desperation QB3 because he’s very likely to play 17 games, provided he stays healthy. As long as the Steelers are in playoff contention, they won’t have any reason to turn to Will Howard or Drew Allar. Mike Tomlin may not be there anymore, but the Steelers will probably be in contention for most of the season.
Preseason Fantasy QB Rankings
- Josh Allen | BUF
- Drake Maye | NE
- Lamar Jackson | BAL
- Jayden Daniels | WAS
- Joe Burrow | CIN
- Jalen Hurts | PHI
- Caleb Williams | CHI
- Justin Herbert | LAC
- Jaxson Dart | NYG
- Trevor Lawrence | JAX
- Dak Prescott | DAL
- Bo Nix | DEN
- Brock Purdy | SF
- Patrick Mahomes II | KC
- Matthew Stafford | LAR
- Jared Goff | DET
- Kyler Murray | MIN
- Jordan Love | GB
- Malik Willis | MIA
- Tyler Shough | NO
- Baker Mayfield | TB
- C.J. Stroud | HOU
- Sam Darnold | SEA
- Daniel Jones | IND
- Bryce Young | CAR
