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They're in: Packers pile up Pro Bowl honors

Seven original selections are Green Bay’s most since ’11, six starters most since ’67

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GREEN BAY – The Packers were not snubbed this year.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, receiver Davante Adams, tackle David Bakhtiari, guard Elgton Jenkins, linebacker Za'Darius Smith, cornerback Jaire Alexander and running back Aaron Jones have all been named to the Pro Bowl roster, the most original selections Green Bay has had since seven players were selected in 2011.

The Packers' seven Pro Bowlers tied for the most in the NFL with Kansas City, Seattle and Baltimore.

Everyone but Jones was selected as a starter, the most the Packers have had since Vince Lombardi's final year as head coach in 1967 when Willie Wood, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, Forrest Gregg, Jerry Kramer, Boyd Dowler and Bob Jeter all earned Pro Bowl starting honors.

This marks Rodgers' ninth Pro Bowl selection, tying him with Gregg and Brett Favre for the most in Packers history. Rodgers previously was selected in 2009, '11, '12, '14, '15, '16, '18 and '19. The only two times he wasn't voted to the Pro Bowl this decade came during the '13 and '17 seasons in which he broke his collarbone.

Rodgers, currently in the running for a third NFL MVP award, is on pace for the highest completion percentage of his 13 years as a starting quarterback (69.6%) while boasting the league's top passer rating (118.0). This past weekend, he became the first player in NFL history to notch three seasons with 40 or more touchdown passes.

"Just his ability to go out there and get us in the right looks … he definitely makes us look good," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said of Rodgers last month. "In my eyes, he's an MVP player. No doubt about it. And I wouldn't want any other quarterback on our football team."

Meanwhile, Adams is the first Packers receiver to make four consecutive Pro Bowls (2017-20) since James Lofton made six in a row from 1980-85.

Despite missing two games with a hamstring injury, Adams has caught 98 passes for 1,186 yards and 14 TDs, the second most in the NFL this season. This is the first time the seventh-year receiver has been voted a starter.

"He is a phenomenal player. He is as good as they come," Rodgers said of Adams. "I wouldn't want to throw to anybody else. I have so much love and respect for him as a person, the way he carries himself, his demeanor, his competitiveness, his focus, the plays that he makes on the field, the way that he communicates with me, the respect that he shows me, the respect that he earns from myself and our team every single day. He is one of a kind."

Bakhtiari was selected to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season and third time overall. The four-time All-Pro made his first Pro Bowl appearance as an injury replacement in 2016.

One year after being "snubbed" during initial balloting for the Pro Bowl, Smith was voted as a starter after registering a team-high 11½ sacks and three forced fumbles. He also garnered the most fan votes among NFC outside linebackers.

Smith, who has 25 sacks in two seasons with Green Bay, is the first Packers player to have back-to-back seasons with 11 or more sacks since Aaron Kampman (2006-07).

Alexander, Jones and Jenkins are all first-time Pro Bowl selections, with Alexander and Jenkins becoming the first draft picks of Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst to make a Pro Bowl team.

Alexander, 23, is the youngest Packers player to be voted to the Pro Bowl since Eddie Lacy was selected in 2013. The third-year pro has been regarded as one of the top shutdown cornerbacks in the league this season, recording 46 tackles, nine passes defensed and an interception in 13 starts.

Like Alexander, Jones was selected as an alternate last year before making the Pro Bowl cut this time around. The 26-year-old running back has had at least 130 rushing yards in two of his last three games and is now just 32 yards from a second consecutive 1,000-yard season on the ground.

Seven Packers were named to the Pro Bowl rosters. Check out photos of them from the 2020 season.

Jenkins may be the most deserving of anyone selected to this year's Pro Bowl, considering how often the second-year guard has played out of position due to injuries on the offensive line.

The 2019 second-round pick is the first Green Bay offensive lineman to start a game at guard, center and tackle in the same season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Jenkins started at center the past two weeks after veteran starter Corey Linsley was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury. He currently leads the Packers' offense with 925 snaps played in 14 starts this season.

The 6-foot-5, 311-pound guard is just the third Packers offensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons and the first since 1952 (Derel Teteak).

"That kid's special to do that," guard Lucas Patrick said of Jenkins. "I've never been around a player, high school, college or this level, to do that. What he can do athletically, what he can do mentally, what he can do physically, it's impressive. He just doesn't say no. … It's a testament to his mentality. He's never gonna back down from anything."

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year's Pro Bowl will take place virtually, with players going head-to-head in Madden '21 during a weeklong series of games that will include celebrities, football legends and current players, leading up to a game of Madden between the league's best players.

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