Last season Aaron Rodgers missed being named NFL league MVP by just a small margin. Here are three reasons why he won’t miss in 2017.

Off-season Additions

The addition of Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks will make a huge impact on the Packers offense and its ability to score. Last season Jerry Cook was a big asset to the Packers offense. While I have a lot of respect for Jared and his ability, he’s definitely no Martellus Bennett. Bennett is big and strong, he’s a really imposing force on an offense. He averages double digits per reception and has contributed at least five touchdowns every season. Add to that the fact that his past season in New England was his best so far, and Bennett is primed to have a breakout season.

Lance Kendricks is the off-season acquisition that has kind of flown under the radar this preseason. He doesn’t have the type of stats that Martellus Bennett has, however he has also played with some pretty inferior quarterbacks. The best quarterback Kendricks has played with was Sam Bradford. While Sam is not a poor quarterback, he’s also not an outstanding quarterback either. Kendricks also stands to have a breakout season as he will be catching passes from none other than Aaron Rodgers.

Ty Montgomery – Running Back

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers receiving corps largely took the offense on their shoulders when the running back corps was decimated with injuries. Ty Montgomery came on halfway through the season and and actually did an outstanding job. Still, he was working on only a portion of the Packers playbook. He was thrown into the mix in near desperation and didn’t have time to learn all the nuances of the running back position.

Now Ty has had an off-season to not only studied the playbook, but, to also work on skills that are specific to running backs. He’s worked heavily on his footwork including his 2 foot cut, and is developing his pass protection ability which is something that he was severely lacking last season.

With all these improvements in Montgomery’s abilities as a running back, the running game should take another step forward which, in turn, will create a play action threat.

Resurrection of the Defensive Backfield Play

The final factor in what should be Aaron Rodgers third MVP title, is a defense of backfield that is not only healthy but has improved over last season.

It didn’t take Ted Thompson long to go after some new blood in the defense of back field. He picked up Kevin king and Josh Jones early in the 2017 draft, and both players are expected to have a strong impact in 2017.

Kevin king is a tall and fast defense of back. As he develops, he should be able to take on even the top tier receivers in the league and hold his own. Josh Jones is a hard-hitting hybrid of a defense of back and linebacker. He’ll be an important factor in stopping the run, as Morgan Burnett has done for years, but also his ability to play both roles will create confusion for opposing offenses.

Rollins has had an outstanding preseason and Randall has been placed on the inside where he excelled last season.

The improvements in the defensive backfield means that the Packers defense will be placing the ball back into Rodgers’ hands quicker than they did last year. This will give Aaron more opportunities to display his wizardry.

2017 NFL League MVP

These three factors should have every Packer fan extremely excited about the 2017 season. And, they will play a big role in Aaron Rodgers bid for another MVP award.