Aaron Rodgers appears to be friendly with everyone on the Steelers, but especially so with his receivers and pass catchers. A quarterback who’s seen and done it all and worked with dozens of targets, he understands how the relationship works. Over the years, he’s learned to loosen the control and let guys be themselves, encouraging them to buy in.
A key part of that buy-in is about trust and confidence that you can get the ball. As Pat Freiermuth recently explained, Aaron Rodgers wants to instill that in his targets. He talked about it over the weekend on Movin’ the Chains on SiriusXM NFL Radio with Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller.
Aaron Rodgers “tells everyone run their routes like you’re gonna get the ball,” Freiermuth said. “I think it’s been good, because he expects details from everyone, the same that he expects it from himself. That’s the cool part, is he holds us to a high standard, but he also holds himself to a high standard. He’s a wicked smart quarterback. His resume is unbelievable, and just working with him, it’s been great.”
Entering his 21st season, Rodgers has plenty of experience. He’s completed passes to nearly 100 different people during that time, from Davante Adams to Vonta Leach. So when he tells you to run a route as if he might target you on the play, that’s what you’re going to do.
Virtually everybody Rodgers will be throwing to this year grew up watching him play. His oldest target is Robert Woods, who is about eight years younger and entered the league in 2013. Rodgers has been around since 2005, the oldest player in the entire NFL.
A four-time NFL MVP, he has done about everything there is to do. And he has done it his way, which the Steelers are seeing. Even president Art Rooney II talked about the experience of watching Aaron Rodgers practice up close for the first time, witnessing all of the unusual arm angles at which he releases the ball. What he does, you can’t teach, and they respect that.
That doesn’t mean he’s going to have a great season, or that the Steelers will with him. But the template is there for success, if Rodgers can still perform—and the line can protect him. Last year with the Jets, he already experienced a shaky receiving corps that exposed him to one of the highest percentages of dropped passes in the league.
The Steelers are bound to be a little more sure-handed than that, although the novelty of the offense will inevitably lead to some early follies. Not only is Aaron Rodgers new here, but so are DK Metcalf and Jonnu Smith, Kaleb Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell. And lest we forget, Rodgers didn’t even sign until just before minicamp, so there is some catching up to do. But putting his trust in his receivers will help accelerate that process and encourage them to believe in the approach.
