Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson is coming off a very impressive preseason debut, totaling 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati. However, if he is truly going to compete for that third running back role, he will have to be a consistent contributor on special teams and as a blocker.
“Those are areas that we are going to have to see improvement,” said Matt LaFleur on Sunday. “Not that he’s done a bad job, but you want to see the consistency of that, obviously.”
Both LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst were asked recently about the third running back battle, specifically, what they are looking for in that role. Both gave almost identical answers, mentioning that special teams contributions are going to be a must. This player also must be reliable as a blocker and as a pass catcher. Although, of course, there is a certain prerequisite that this player must meet as a ball carrier, basically everything but that will be the deciding factors.
With Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon handling pretty much all of the offensive workload, if the third running back is going to contribute, that player will have to do so primarily on special teams.
With that in mind, along with Wilson’s impressive performance on the ground against the Bengals, he did not play any special teams snaps. He was on the field for five snaps in the passing game, including two where he was lined up on the boundary and two that were passes off of play-action. In all instances, the play-call was never designed to get him the ball, or at the very least, he was the last read or close to it. Wilson did not have any snaps as a pass blocker, either.
“Whoever the third back is has to have a role on teams,” said LaFleur. “I haven’t been on too many teams where they’re not a key contributor in that facet of the game. That’s usually a big learning curve for a lot of young players, especially when you were the star player at your school, you’re not getting a lot of those reps.”
Patrick Taylor may not have the same flash as a ball carrier or upside on offense that some of the other running backs on the roster possess, but he is sound in blitz pick-up, as a blocker as a whole, and played 121 special teams snaps in 2022 with the fourth-highest PFF grade on the team.
Moving forward, Wilson is going to have the opportunity to show that he can be effective in these key areas as well. His performance in Cincinnati not only earned him that opportunity, but Tyler Goodson left Friday’s game with a shoulder injury and was in a sling during Sunday’s practice. Lew Nichols has been sidelined for over a week now as well, with a shoulder injury of his own. Based on what I saw Sunday, Wilson is now the fourth available running back, behind Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, and Taylor.
“We have to put him in those situations in practice (special teams and blocking scenarios),” added LaFleur, “and hopefully, he can continue to improve and grow and be a force there.”
