Packers Training Camp Preview: Running Backs

In Part 2 of a series of Green Bay Packers training camp positional previews, it's a look at the running backs.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jul 10, 2023 10:34 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – While the Green Bay Packers enter the great unknown at quarterback with Jordan Love replacing Aaron Rodgers, they can lean on the surest of sure things.

The play of the one-two punch of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon at running back.

The running game, always a key part of coach Matt LaFleur’s offense, figures to take center stage the moment the Packers walk on the field for their first practice of training camp on July 26. With Jones and Dillon, LaFleur can lean on two backs who have proven to be ready, willing and able to carry the load.

Let’s take a deeper look in Part 2 of a series of positional previews.

Projected Opening Depth Chart

Starter: Aaron Jones.

Backups: AJ Dillon, Patrick Taylor, Tyler Goodson, Lew Nichols, Emanuel Wilson.

Position Group Ranking (out of 11)

First.

Strength

The do-it-all, one-two punch of Jones and Dillon. Over the last two years, only 12 running backs have rushed for at least 700 yards and caught at least 25 passes in both seasons.

No surprise, Jones is on that list with 799 rushing yards and 52 receptions in 2021 and 1,121 rushing yards and 59 receptions in 2022. Perhaps a surprise is Dillon is on that list, too, with 803 rushing yards and 34 receptions in 2021 and 770 rushing yards and 28 receptions in 2022.

While Jones is the quintessential third-down back with his ability catch a pass, make a man miss and move the chains, Dillon can do that, too. While Dillon is the textbook definition of a short-yardage back, Jones can grind out the tough yards, too.

Football Outsiders has a stat called Success Rate, which represents a runner’s success based on down-and-distance situations. A first-and-10 run that gains 4 yards, for instance, is a success, as is any third-down run that gains a first down. In 2022, Dillon was fifth and Jones was sixth.

Weakness

AJ Dillon (Photo by Dan Powers/USA Today Sports)

If you’re nitpicking, the hands of Jones and Dillon. By number, no running back dropped more passes than Jones’ six, according to Pro Football Focus. By percentage, only the Jets’ Breece Hall had a higher drop rate than Dillon’s 15.2 percent, according to PFF. No team’s backs dropped more than the Jones-Dillon total of 11.

Actually, that’s not nitpicking. That’s just not good enough. Jones and Dillon have proven they can be superb receivers. In 2021, for instance, they combined to catch 86-of-101 (85.1 percent) with five drops (5.5 percent). In 2022, they combined to catch 87-of-111 (78.4 percent) with 11 drops (11.2 percent). They’ll need to be much more effective in 2023.

Key Questions

1. Can Dillon be more than a 3-yards-a-cloud-of-dust runner? For a big man, he just hasn’t broken enough tackles or done enough damage when he does get in the open field.

2. Will age catch up with Jones? Last season, Jones was the second-oldest running back to rush for 1,000 yards. He’ll turn 29 one day before the Packers host the Chiefs on Dec. 3. That’s sort of getting old as far as running backs go, though he was as explosive as any running back on the field en route to topping 1,500 yards from scrimmage.

Position coach Ben Sirmans has some experience with veteran backs dating to his days with former Rams star Steven Jackson.

“He might’ve been in his ninth or 10th year. I had all rookies and I had Steven Jackson,” Sirmans recalled before the start of OTAs. “So, we’re flying through drills, having those guys go full speed, and Jack’s like, ‘Whoa, now wait a minute now, I’ve been in this league for a while, I don’t have the same legs as these young bucks.’

“So, sometimes, I’ve got to try to be a little more conscious of that, but it really hasn’t affected him. He’s still going as fast and hard as anybody out there. I just try from a physical standpoint try to be more conscious of that, that he’s going into his seventh year. But he hasn’t missed a beat. He’s flying around faster than anybody in that room.”

3. Will LaFleur run the ball? Conventional wisdom suggests LaFleur will lean on his running backs. They are the proven playmakers on offense, after all. In 2022, the Packers ranked 15th in run percentage. In 2021, they were 16th. So, it’s not as if they’ve been overly pass-heavy. How he adjusts the offense – will he protect Love or let him go? – will be an interesting early story line.

Biggest Battle

Taylor vs. Goodson vs. Nichols to be the third back.

When Jones and Dillon are the one-two tandem, the No. 3 back is a mostly irrelevant position. That is until there’s an injury and that No. 3 back has to play 20 snaps per game as the No. 2 back.

Taylor, an undrafted free agent in 2020, can do everything. Goodson, an undrafted free agent in 2022, showed intriguing explosiveness last preseason with a 23-yard catch at San Francisco and a 24-yard touchdown run at Kansas City. Nichols was a seventh-round pick this year who led the nation in all-purpose yards in 2021. He’ll need to catch the ball better than he did in the spring.

“I think it’s going to be a real competition,” Sirmans said. “You’ve got three different type of backs. You have a guy like Goody, who’s probably built more like Aaron in terms of what you’re going to ask him to do, and then a guy like PT is probably a little bit similar to Lew, being bigger, good instincts.

“Heck, special teams may even play a huge role in making that decision for us. But if all guys are running on all cylinders, it may come down to which one of these guys is going to be more beneficial for what we want to do offensively in situations and how their response is on special teams. So, it’s going to be a real deal for sure.”

Star Search

Aaron Jones (Photo by Jeff Hanisch/USA Today Sports)

Jones is one of the best running backs in the NFL, a face-of-the-franchise type and one of the league’s all-around good guys. Yet, he’s somehow underappreciated outside of Green Bay.

Jones ranks among the NFL legends in yards per carry. He’s third in Packers history in rushing. Among active running backs, Jones ranks eighth in rushing yards. Among all backs since 2017 (Jones’ rookie year), he ranks sixth in rushing yards, eighth in receptions, ninth in yards from scrimmage and sixth in total touchdowns.

For all that, he’s a one-time Pro Bowler.

Don’t Forget About

Everyone loves the shiny new toy. That would be Nichols. Everyone loves the home run threat. That would be Goodson.

Nobody appreciates Taylor. Is he the fastest back on the roster? Is he the most powerful? Is he the best receiver or blocker? The answer is no to all those questions. But Taylor can perform all those tasks at an NFL-caliber level, which is why he’s got a good chance of making the opening 53-man roster.