OVERVIEW
It's a luxury when all of the questions surround the backups. The Packers have NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. That's as good as it gets. But, as we've mentioned a few times throughout the offseason, Graham Harrell is the NFL's only projected No. 2 quarterback to have never thrown a pass in a regular-season game.
That leads to three questions: Will Harrell play well enough in the preseason to be the No. 2? Will seventh-round pick B.J. Coleman challenge Harrell? Or will general manager Ted Thompson feel compelled to add a veteran such as Colt McCoy to provide an experienced No. 2 quarterback?
Under Thompson, the Packers typically take two quarterbacks into the regular season. The last time they carried three quarterbacks on the Week 1 roster was 2006: Brett Favre, Rodgers and rookie Ingle Martin.
DEPTH CHART
Aaron Rodgers (6-2, 225; eighth season): Rodgers had the greatest quarterbacking season in NFL history, which is fitting, because his career passer rating of 104.1 is a stunning 7.2 points better than Tony Romo’s second-place 96.9 and 7.3 points better than Hall of Famer Steve Young’s third-place 96.8.
Graham Harrell (6-2, 215; first season): Since signing with Green Bay in 2010, Harrell’s spent most of his career on the practice squad, getting late-season call-ups both years. He had a rating of 75.7 last preseason and led the offense to points on four of 18 possessions, but rallied the Packers to victory at Indianapolis.
B.J. Coleman (6-3, 231; rookie, R-7): The seventh-round pick from Tennessee-Chattanooga worked with Brett Favre before the draft and has been soaking up Rodgers’ knowledge in Green Bay. “There’s a lot of things that Aaron thinks about when he comes to the line that I’m not there yet.”
Total: 3. On 2011 opening roster: 2.
Final prediction (3): Rodgers, Harrell and Coleman.
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Bill Huber is publisher of Packer Report magazine and PackerReport.com and has written for Packer Report since 1997. E-mail him at packwriter2002@yahoo.com, or leave him a question in Packer Report’s subscribers-only Packers Pro Club forum. Find Bill on Twitter at twitter.com/PackerReport.