Remembering How Good Jermichael Finley Was
In a week of honoring the Tight End position in the NFL, Packers fans can all agree how special Jermichael Finley was, and could've been
By Luke Leavitt
Jermichael Finley was ahead of his time. With Tight End University taking over the NFL headlines this past week, it’s impossible not to look back at one of the most gifted, different, and flat‑out dangerous tight ends the Packers have ever had. TEU is all about celebrating the evolution of the position, and Finley was one of the prototypes.
Finley wasn’t just a tight end; he was a matchup nightmare. At 6'5", 247 lbs. with receiver‑level fluidity, he forced defenses into impossible choices. Too fast for a linebacker. Too big for a safety to cover. Too hard for a cornerback to bring down
His 2011 season, 55 catches, 767 yards, 8 TDs, only hints at how dominant he could be. The Packers’ offense was a machine, and Finley was the piece that made defensive coordinators lose sleep. In a season where Green Bay would start 13-0, the fluidity in which their offense played in was a result of a balanced attack from each angle.
Before injuries derailed everything, Finley and Aaron Rodgers were building something special. Rodgers trusted him in high‑leverage moments. Seam shots, red‑zone fades, third‑down conversions. Finley stretched the field vertically in a way few tight ends did at the time.
He wasn’t just a cog in the offense; he was a force multiplier. When Finley was rolling, the Packers’ passing game felt unstoppable.
Despite a meniscus tear during the season before (2010), Green Bay would go on to win Super Bowl XLV, making Finley a World Champion in his career. Should Finley have stayed healthy that season, you can’t help but wonder how much more dominant the offense could have been in their historic Cinderella 6-seed run to the Lombardi.
Finley’s career‑altering spinal injury in 2013 is one of the most heartbreaking “what‑ifs” in Packers history. He was only 26. He was entering his prime. He was finally putting everything together, consistency, maturity, leadership.
And then it was gone.
Tight End University week celebrates the evolution of the position. The modern-day Jimmy Graham, Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and now Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Tucker Kraft. All player types who blend receiver traits with tight end size. But before those guys, Finley was already doing it.
He was a TEU guy before TEU existed.
If he played today, in modern spread offenses with motion, mismatches, and tight ends featured as primary weapons, he’d be a superstar. No question.
Despite a short career, Jermichael Finley contributed a great deal into what a tight end could be. Having his career-best season amid an all-time great offense in NFL history (2011). There was no answer to defending the player Finley was, he was going to get his. Perhaps the only way to stop him was due to what did, career interrupting injuries.
Before he left however, Finley laid the groundwork on how a tight-end can expand playbooks, take over the middle of the field, and use their size with receiver-like ability to take over. We may wonder what the rest of his career had in store, but one thing we are sure of is that Jermichael Finley set the template for the modern hybrid TE.
Happy Tight End University (TEU) Week!
Remember how good Jermichael Finley was? @JermichaelF88 pic.twitter.com/dvMEG7ajph
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) July 19, 2022
Aaron Rodgers and Jermichael Finley were a 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 duo.
Damn, I wish it could've lasted longer.pic.twitter.com/FSXfoBqAIC
— Eli Berkovits (@BookOfEli_NFL) June 26, 2022
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Luke Leavitt is a Contributor for Cheesehead TV, covering the Green Bay Packers. A Manchester by the Sea, Massachussetts native, Luke is a lifelong Packer fan, and 16-year shareholder. Keep up with Luke on X @LukeLeavitt7
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Comments (14)
LeotisHarris
June 28, 2026 at 10:27 am
I recall attending a home game against the Lions. Finley was lined up tight on the left side of the line, took a step at the snap and then drove his shoulder into the DE decleating him onto his back. Finley paused for an instant to look down at the dude, and continued on his route.
Great block, and the best part was it was against the DE who thought he was such a badass (can't remember his name) with all the eye black and WWE antics. Finley pancaked him.
SicSemperTyrannis
June 28, 2026 at 03:44 pm
I just read a great article Jermichael wrote in 2017, called They Basically Reset My Brain.
T7Steve
June 28, 2026 at 11:12 am
Thanks for the memories. Good time to go back and remember how it was and could have been.
TarynsEyes
June 28, 2026 at 12:03 pm
Let's remember that in Rodgers' eyes, Finley was a WR, and that's why he threw to him twice as often as any other TE when on the field. With that, he only had a 2% better catch rate than the others, but his drop rate was huge. Sure, like others, he had his moments, and some of those weren't the celebration type. I thought Finley was overcelebrated then and still do today. He was good, but he really wasn't good enough. A wannabe WR in a TE position who lost both for not choosing one. Perhaps another example of a lower bar in GB with certain players being touted as high bar players.
Since'75
June 28, 2026 at 06:48 pm
Yea.....
We're once again celebrating someone that might have been.
Sans his other issues.
He never had one great season, he gave us some great plays here and there.
Injury plagued, head case imo.
He averaged 3.3 TD's/year for the Packers.
Some here have mentioned potential, so maybe that's what we're remembering.
Who's next..Rashan Gary, Dillon, Lacy, Perry, King, Stokes, Van Ness,, Walker, etc.
I mean...if we're going to remember anyone, lets remember Bakhtiari, Nelson, Adams, JJ, Sitton, Lang, Jones, KGB, Mathews, Raji, Brown, etc.
Just sayin.
Was he better than Musgrave, sure 🤷♂️
Remembering Finely to me is bad Karma, especially if we're talking tight ends.
TPCheese
June 28, 2026 at 04:54 pm
To me, it seems as though people like to remember Finley more for his potential than his actual production. Aside from his game against the Bears, I remember Finley more for his drops and off the field headaches. He was a big strong guy who lacked consistency. Had the neck injury never happened, you would like to think he was gonna turn the corner and become what everyone expected him to be. Who knows if he would have even stayed in GB given his drama with Rodgers.
vin0770
June 28, 2026 at 05:52 pm
Agree
His headaches (being polite) off the field drove me nuts. Very immature.
Leatherhead
June 28, 2026 at 07:23 pm
JerAlmost Finley, so named because of all the great plays he almost made.
In reality, he had three real good seasons, including two in a row. 55, 55, and 61 catches, but also seasons of 6, 21, and 25.
I do not recall another player, ever, who almost made more great catches than him. Acrobatic, high-speed, leaping incompletions.
Oxymoron 3339
June 28, 2026 at 07:37 pm
Good Article LL
To me he was always a poor man’s Keith Jackson.
dobber
June 28, 2026 at 08:45 pm
"Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, and Tucker Kraft. All player types who blend receiver traits with tight end size."
Huh. One of the things that I think makes Tucker Kraft so fun to watch is that he's very little WR and virtually all TE.
dobber
June 28, 2026 at 08:45 pm
Boop.
Starrbrite
June 28, 2026 at 11:08 pm
He’s Ron Kramer Dobby.
Snap the ball
June 28, 2026 at 11:14 pm
I THINK LOVE SHOULD WATCH RODGERS FOOTWORK ON THESE PLAYS
YES THAT WAS A HUGH LOSS FOR THE PACKERS
MilkCan44
June 29, 2026 at 12:34 am
Finley ended up the way you described him, but I remember in his first two years he frustrated the hell out of the coaching staffs and Rodgers. His draft year, there were a half dozen TEs drafted before him, but it was not a banner year for TEs.