The level of urgency that the Green Bay Packers will have this offseason at the running back position depends on what happens with Aaron Jones. But regardless of how his situation plays out, you can expect the Packers to add to their running back room through the draft.
AJ Dillon is entering the final year of his rookie deal and Jones could be a cap casualty with more than $10 million in cap savings for the Packers by releasing him. However, even with the Packers in a cap crunch once again, I don’t believe they release Jones. This was an offense lacking regular playmaking in 2022, and from a football perspective, getting rid of the most consistent playmaker makes little sense.
Regardless of who the quarterback is in 2023 for the Packers, Green Bay’s plan should be to compete. This will obviously be the case if Aaron Rodgers returns, and we should see the same approach for Jordan Love. If the Packers want to truly evaluate what Love is capable of as a starter – and why wouldn’t they? – Brian Gutekunst needs to put the best team around him, and that includes Jones.
With a cap hit north of $20 million this season, the Packers will have to restructure Jones’ deal. But again, even if he does return, the fact that Green Bay will still have him and Dillon doesn’t mean they shouldn’t add to the running back room in the draft.
The draft is about planning ahead, after all, and the 2024 season is the final of Jones’ current deal. Cutting him next offseason saves the Packers $10.4 million in cap space currently, and Dillon will also be a free agent a year from now. On top of that, prior to selecting Dillon in the 2020 draft, Matt LaFleur discussed the value of having three running backs on the roster to lean on.
Patrick Taylor has been a reliable presence on special teams and has held up in pass protection when called upon – which is valuable – but he is limited as a ball carrier. Tyler Goodson, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2022 and is still an unknown after spending his rookie season on the practice squad.
The good news for the Packers is that this is a deep draft class at the running back position. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com called this draft class “loaded” and added that there are “future starters everywhere.” Dane Brugler of The Athletic would go on to say that this running back class is “very deep,” and there is a “logjam of quality running backs in the third and fourth-round range.”
Green Bay has bigger needs to tackle than running back, and with it being such a deep running back class, that gives them the ability to address this position later on rather than having to do so right away. Some names to know in the third and fourth rounds of the draft from Brennen Rupp of Packers Wire include Roschon Johnson (Texas), Chase Brown (Illinois), Kenny McIntosh (Georgia), Tyjae Spears (Tulane), Sean Tucker (Syracuse), Israel Abanikanda (Pitt), Eric Gray (Oklahoma), Kendre Miller (TCU), Zach Evans (Ole Miss), DeWayne McBride (UAB), and Zach Charbonnet (UCLA).
It’s always a challenge trying to figure out which direction Brian Gutekunst is going to go in a draft. However, given the uncertainty around the running back position beyond 2023, coupled with the need for more dynamic depth and the fact that this is a very good draft class, adding a running back in this year’s draft feels like a near certainty for the Packers.
