GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay Packers were fairly certain Jordy Nelson would return to form after his reconstructed right knee healed, but no one had any idea if the former Pro Bowl receiver would have any complications that would force him to miss time.
In that regard, perhaps the most impressive thing about Nelson’s comeback season wasn’t that he caught 97 passes for 1,257 yards and led the NFL in touchdown catches with 14. But rather that he had nary a problem with his knee.
At age 31 and coming off a torn anterior cruciate ligament that cost him all of the 2015 season, Nelson did not have to reduce his workload in any way. He played more snaps this season than any receiver on the Packers’ roster and the only significant time he missed had nothing to do with his knee but rather because of the broken ribs he sustained in the playoff opener against the New York Giants.
In the regular season, Nelson was on the field for all but 72 of the Packers’ offensive snaps.
“That’s Jordy Nelson, man, he’s a fighter,” Packers defensive back Micah Hyde said. “Obviously saw him all last season, not being able to play. You could see how much that hurt him, not being able to participate with his teammates, with his brothers out there.”
Another reason the Packers’ offense flourished this season was the consistent availability of the offensive line. Three of the five starters played at least 96 percent of the offensive snaps.
No offensive player took every snap this season, but quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the closest.
Below are the snap counts on offense from the 2016 season, including playoffs. For a comparison, here are last year’s offensive totals.
The defensive breakdown can be found here.
Total offensive plays (including playoffs): 1,292
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers: 1,265 (97.9 percent)
Brett Hundley: 27 (2.1 percent)
Running backs
Ty Montgomery: 508 (39.3 percent)
Aaron Ripkowski: 361 (27.9 percent)
James Starks: 265 (20.5 percent)
Eddie Lacy: 166 (12.8 percent)
Christine Michael: 91 (7.0 percent)
Don Jackson: 29 (2.2 percent)
Joe Kerridge: 21 (1.6 percent)
Receivers
Jordy Nelson: 1,080 (83.6 percent)
Davante Adams: 1,069 (82.7 percent)
Randall Cobb: 862 (66.7 percent)
Geronimo Allison: 302 (23.4 percent)
Jeff Janis: 264 (20.4 percent)
Trevor Davis: 117 (9.1 percent)
Jared Abbrederis: 24 (1.9 percent)
Tight ends
Richard Rodgers: 671 (51.9 percent)
Jared Cook: 479 (37.1 percent)
Justin Perillo: 102 (7.9 percent)
Offensive line
David Bakhtiari: 1,258 (97.4 percent)
Bryan Bulaga: 1,257 (97.3 percent)
Lane Taylor: 1,240 (96.0 percent)
T.J. Lang: 965 (74.7 percent)
Corey Linsley: 803 (62.2 percent)
JC Tretter: 488 (37.8 percent)
Jason Spriggs: 282 (21.8 percent)
Don Barclay: 196 (15.2 percent)
Kyle Murphy: 8 (0.6 percent)
Letroy Guion: 5 (0.4 percent)
