One of the first things that I look at every year when the schedule is announced, is which marquee players will Green Bay be matched up against in the upcoming season. Every year there is a new batch of players who are primed to try and make the Packers’ bend to their will while Green Bay furiously gameplans against them.

This upcoming season is no different. You could make a very strong argument that Green Bay will face the top three players in the NFL not named Aaron Rodgers this upcoming season. These top players who are set to face off against Green Bay will help make some of these matchups must see TV. Today I’ll take a look at some of Green Bay’s toughest individual matchups for the 2018 season.

Honorable Mentions

Deion Jones – Atlanta Falcons LB – Week 14

It was incredibly difficult to leave Jones off of the top ten list as he’s a special player and the ideal middle linebacker in Dan Quinn’s defense. Jones is fast, aggressive, and equally talented against the run and pass. If he’s free to run and chase he will make the entirety of the game a living Hell for the opposing offense.

Tre’Davious White – Buffalo Bills CB – Week 4

If I thought White would continue at the same level of his rookie season I would absolutely have him in my top ten. I believe White, while an incredible player and athlete, will take a bit of a step back in his sophomore campaign and therefore he just missed the list. That said, he has the ability to make Davante Adams’ life difficult for four quarters in week four.

Ndamukong Suh – Los Angeles Rams DL – Week 8

The tandem of Suh and Donald are sure to give every offense fits and Suh certainly hasn’t been shy of making an impact in games against the Packers (usually in some illegal fashion). With offenses focused on Donald, Suh is primed for a monster year. If he performs up to his talent the sky is the limit for Suh this season and he could see plenty of one-on-one matchups—which is a scary thought.

Trent Williams – Washington Redskins OT – Week 3

Nick Perry, Clay Matthews, and the rest of the Packers' edge rushers will have their hands full when they go head to head with one of the true behemoths of the NFC. Williams is tough, aggressive, physical, and a nightmare to play against for 60 minutes. Green Bay will need to find a way to get pressure in other ways because Williams usually shuts his side of the field down pretty well.

Darius Slay – Detroit Lions CB – Weeks 5 & 17

For my money, Darius Slay is one of the most underrated players in all of the NFL. He is as consistent a corner as there is and he will go against the opposing teams’ number one wide receiver more often than not. Much like Tre’Davious White, Slay will be tasked with locking down Davante Adams in what’s sure to be one of the more fun cornerback-wide receiver rivalries to watch this upcoming season.

Stefon Diggs – Minnesota Vikings WR – Weeks 2 & 12

Much like Darius Slay, Stefon Diggs has garned a tremendous amount of respect from me over the course of the past few seasons. Few run routes with the grace of Diggs and his ability to cut on a dime and run corners off the field is just shy of Antonio Brown in my opinion. Diggs is ridiculously still only 24 years of age and it should be a great battle between he and Adams for which WR is “King of the North.”

Xavier Rhodes – Minnesota Vikings CB – Weeks 2 & 12

Rhodes is an ideal cornerback in today’s NFL as he is quick enough to stay with the more agile wide receivers, while still physical enough to hold up against players the likes of Julio Jones and A.J. Green. Rhodes has been a pain in the Packers side for some time now and that is likely to continue into this season.

Grady Jarrett – Atlanta Falcons DT – Week 14

If you watched the Super Bowl from two seasons ago against New England than you have a pretty decent idea of what Jarrett is capable of. He may not quite have the name recognition yet of some of the other players on this list but Jarrett is right there with the likes of Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels as dual threat interior players who can do damage both in run and pass defense.

Akiem Hicks – Chicago Bears DL – Weeks 1 & 15

The Chicago Bears haven’t exactly been a team to watch over the course of the past few seasons, but one player who has gone out of his way to make a name for himself is Akiem Hicks. Hicks has been downright dominant at times for Chicago and he’s poised for another huge year in 2018. Here’s hoping that Green Bay’s interior offensive line is up to the task because we’ve already had Hicks, Jarrett, and Suh on this list and we haven’t even reached the top 10 yet!

Top 10

10(tie). Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons QB – Week 14 & Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks QB – Week 11

You can put either of these two quarterbacks in whichever order you’d like but there’s no denying the talent and quarterbacking skills that both players possess. The Packers have actually had fairly decent success against Russel Wilson over the years but the same certainly can’t be said for Matt Ryan. These two quarterbacks will test Mike Pettine’s new system from start to finish in their respective games and when you play quarterbacks the caliber of Wilson & Ryan you know you’re going to be in for a 60 minute battle. The results of these two games could go a long way in deciding playoff seeding in the NFC this season.

Russel Wilson out here playing backyard football with Doug Baldwin. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/SdLX8jLeXy

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) November 10, 2017

9. DeForest Buckner – San Francisco 49ers DL – Week 6

Buckner had his breakout season in 2017 and he’s poised for huge things once again in 2018. I expect Buckner’s dominance this past year to be just the beginning for him, and as Solomon Thomas gets better, Buckner has a chance to be even more dominant. Buckner lead the league for all interior defenders with 19 quarterback hits a season ago, and the last thing you want is a 6’7” – 290 pound defensive monster getting a clean hit on Aaron Rodgers. Watch out for Buckner when Green Bay faces San Francisco in week six.

The season DeForest Buckner had last year isn’t getting enough love. He’s a budding star on the interior of the #49ers defense. Easily one of the more underrated players in the league.
pic.twitter.com/Nf6c6PZBuZ

— J.R. (@JReidDraftScout) July 4, 2018

8. Alex Mack – Atlanta Falcons Center – Week 14

The Falcons' offense just runs at an entirely different level when they have a healthy Mack on the interior. Whether he’s helping Matt Ryan with the blitz calls, opening holes for Freeman and Coleman, or being the anchor on the interior against the league’s best pass rushers, Alex Mack can do everything. He’s a consistent All-Pro caliber center and arguably the best center in the game. If Green Bay wants to have success against Mack and the Falcons, Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels will need to be at their best to neutralize Mack and get pressure on the interior.

#NEvsATL Preview via #Falcons C Alex Mack showing snap timing, lateral quickness, and hand usage to get his hips around for the reach block: pic.twitter.com/tR2idt1JeR

— The Scouting Academy (@TheScoutAcademy) October 23, 2017

7. Earl Thomas – Seattle Seahawks Safety – Week 11

Earl Thomas recently demanded either a new contract or a trade, but it’s tough to imagine Thomas going anywhere at this point. That said, he is really the last remnant of the Legion of Boom and you could argue that Thomas’ best days are behind him. In the NFL a player of Thomas’ build can only play so fast and so aggressive for so long before they begin to break down. Even if that’s the case, Thomas is still unequivocally one of the best football players in the NFL and capable of single handedly changing how the Seahawks play defense, and single handedly changing a game with one big play. You can bet that Aaron Rodgers will have an extra eye out for Mr. Thomas when these two teams matchup in week 11.

Extend Earl Thomas. pic.twitter.com/8jJ80cjFwX

— C.J. Tumbarello (@TumbarelloHB) July 17, 2018

6. Bobby Wagner – Seattle Seahawks LB – Week 11

Simply put, Bobby Wagner is one of the absolute best defenders in all of football coming into this season. He matches his freaky athletic profile with a veteran demeanor and never quit attitude to make up one of the most imposing, difficult to scheme against, inside linebackers in the NFL. Wagner and Thomas have lost just about all of their dominant defender teammates from their Super Bowl run, but the Seahawks were wise to keep the two best of the group. It will be incredibly fun to watch Jimmy Graham go up against Bobby Wagner in a matchup of former Seahawk teammates.

An absolute BEAST on defense...Bobby Wagner's (@Bwagz) TOP 10 PLAYS of 2017!  pic.twitter.com/tt22of54tC

— NFL (@NFL) April 7, 2018

5. Harrison Smith – Minnesota Vikings Safety – Weeks 2 & 12

If Harrison Smith wanted to demand his way out of Minnesota and on to say the Chargers or Browns or some far off AFC team that the Packers only play once every four years I’d be just fine with that. Smith is so ridiculously good in all facets of the game, and he’s the engine the makes the Vikings defense really play at an entirely different level. The Vikings have a ton of really impressive pieces on defense, and we’ve already touched based on Xavier Rhodes, but Smith brings everything together. Green Bay needs to find a way to neutralize him in their matchups this season and Ty Montgomery could be just the player to throw him off with his versatility; especially with Aaron Jones out in week two.

Harrison Smith run blitzes are fun. pic.twitter.com/FLDvWPhwSh

— J.R. (@JReidDraftScout) August 15, 2017

4. Rob Gronkowski – New England Patriots TE – Week 9

How do you matchup with a Rob Gronkowski? He’s simply too big, too fast, too physical, and too Gronk for anyone to truly matchup with him one-on-one. The last time these two played Gronkowski had 7 catches for 96 yards and was always a threat to make a play. How Green Bay matches up with Gronkowski will go a long way in determining the outcome of the game. I’m sure Mike Pettine is going to mix things up as best as possible but Green Bay doesn’t have that perfect chess piece to lineup across from the elite tight end. They ultimately may need to try and double team him or play a safety over the top as often as possible. Could Oren Burks be the player who helps defend Gronk? Time will tell.

The top-rated tight end for the fifth year. @RobGronkowski is no. 15  on the #NFLTop100 pic.twitter.com/D1MtgsMOhK

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 19, 2018

3. Julio Jones – Atlanta Falcons WR – Week 14

Julio Jones has just absolutely had his way with the Packers for far too long and Green Bay has really been trying to find the solution to their Julio Jones problem at CB for the past few off-seasons. Green Bay is hoping that by drafting Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson as well as bringing back Tramon WIlliams that they will now have enough corners to cause some problems for Jones. Whether that’s the case or not remains to be seen. Kevin King actually showed some positive signs against Jones a year ago and if he can take a big step in year two it could go a long way towards mitigating one of the Packers’ biggest nightmares.

Take all the possible skills a WR can possess.
Drop them into a 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame.

That's @juliojones_11. #NFLTop100  pic.twitter.com/RDsEXr6gEV

— NFL (@NFL) June 30, 2018

2. Tom Brady – New England Patriots QB – Week 9

This is the matchup everyone’s dying to see this upcoming season. Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers. Of course it’s always ridiculous to matchup two players who won’t ever be on the field at the same time, but nonetheless the matchup is as sexy as it gets. Rodgers won the first round in 2014 in Green Bay and now Brady gets a chance at redemption on his home turf. Brady is bound to start slowing down eventually but he’s still so talented that even small signs of decline don’t seem to faze him or the New England offense. Green Bay has its work cut out trying to defend Brady but the best way to slow down Brady is with an intense interior pass rush. Here’s looking at you Kenny Clark & Mike Daniels.

Back-to-back seasons at #1 on the #NFLTop100!

Tom Brady's Top 10 Plays of the 2017 season! pic.twitter.com/KzZRjMu20K

— NFL (@NFL) June 26, 2018

1. Aaron Donald – Los Angeles Rams DL – Week 8

All the best football players in the world have the first name Aaron… it’s just science. In this case, Aaron Donald will be doing everything in his power to try and make Aaron Rodgers a non-factor in their week eight encounter. Aaron Donald is dominant in all facets of the game and is quite arguably the best football player on the planet at the moment. It’s tough to argue an interior defender for best player over a quarterback but Donald is so dominant at his position that he’s in that discussion. Donald will soon be the NFL’s highest paid defender and he deserves every penny. If you have a chance this season, when the Rams are playing in a primetime game, just watch Aaron Donald and don’t watch anything else. He’s a joy to watch, at least when he’s not trying to maim Aaron Rodgers. Watching these two Aaron’s square off will be one of the highlights of the season and the interior line of Taylor, Linsley and McCray will have their hands absolutely full with the tandem of Suh and Donald.

Aaron Donald (@AaronDonald97) stutter steps, swipes & steps through. Uses the head/shoulder bob, active hands & feet to bait the OL! #LARams pic.twitter.com/dHTpWerakq

— DLineVids (@DLineVids) July 16, 2018