Packers: Top 15 what-ifs of the Ted Thompson era Part 3
5. What if the Packers traded for Randy Moss?
What happened?
The New England Patriots traded for Randy Moss in the 2007 offseason and he went on to have one of the best receiving seasons in football history on arguably the best team in NFL history.
The combination of Brett Favre and Moss had to have been very tantalizing for the Packers and Favre was interested in bringing Moss in, but Ted Thompson ultimately decided against it.
What if the Packers traded for Randy Moss?
The Packers were already one of the best teams in football without Moss in 2007, and adding arguably the best receiver in football history and pairing him with one of the greatest quarterbacks in football history could have made them the best team in football that year.
I think Moss could have had similar numbers in 2007 with the Packers compared to what he in New England that year.
Mike McCarthy is a better offensive mind than Bill Belichick is and Moss would have had a solid ensemble of receivers that opposing defensive coordinators would have had to have dealt with on top of dealing with Moss with names like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.
Adding Moss would have also helped Favre who had 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in the 2007 season. If he had a all-time receiver like Moss to throw to he could have had a increase in numbers which may have made him an MVP candidate.
The addition of Moss would have gotten the Packers past the New York Giants in the 2007 NFC Championship and I think they would have beaten the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII as well.
Playing the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII would have been a tough pill to swallow even if the Patriots trading for Moss never happened but the Packers roster would have been full of just too many talents.
The 2007 Packers would have had three future Hall-of-Famers with Favre, Moss and Charles Woodson and I think they would have been just too good that year even for Belichick and Tom Brady.
The Packers coming off of a Super Bowl victory balk at the opportunity to draft Jordy Nelson in the 2008 NFL Draft as they would have had three good receivers already on their roster, and instead draft John Carlson a tight end out of Notre Dame in the second round of the 2008 Draft. As a result of that they pass on Jermichael Finley who they picked in that same draft.
The Packers also still trade Favre to the New York Jets in 2008 but the Jets pay a steeper price to get him than the original price that they paid since Favre was coming off of his second Super Bowl victory in this scenario.
Moss plays a pivotal part in helping Aaron Rodgers in his first year as a starting quarterback and he is a better quarterback in 2008 and 2009. The Packers barely miss out on a playoff spot in 2008 but end up beating Arizona in the 2009 NFC wild-card round.
Moss is traded to another team in 2010 similar to how he was in reality but I don’t know if it would have been to the Minnesota Vikings as the Packers may not have wanted to trade him to a division rival.
The Packers also still go on to win Super Bowl XLV as Nelson was not the stud receiver in 2010 that he became a few years later with the Packers. And even though they passed on Nelson in 2008 they go on to draft Golden Tate in 2010 who turns out to be a nice receiver for the Packers.
The Packers offense is not quite as good in future seasons with Tate as a primary receiver instead of Nelson, but the Packers still have about the same level of success with a receiving corps of Jennings, Tate and Randall Cobb.