wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
Packers by position: Running backs 

Once again this April, the Press-Gazette will provide a pre-draft breakdown of the Packers roster at each position by beat writer Rob Demovsky. This will lead up to the start of Pete Doughertys annual position-by-position draft series on April 21.

Running back

What they have

Ryan Grant, James Starks, Brandon Jackson*, Dimitri Nance, John Kuhn*, Korey Hall*, Quinn Johnson

* Could be unrestricted free agent depending on new CBA.

Position analysis


In some ways, this could be viewed as a position of strength, even though the Packers running game hasnt been the same since Grants breakout year of 2007 (even his 2009 season of 1,253 yards wasnt as good as 2007). If Grant proves hes fully recovered from the leg injury he sustained on his eighth carry of the season in Week 1 at Philadelphia and if Starks shows the kind of running he did in the postseason, especially the wild-card playoff game at Philly (where he rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries), then they might finally have a true one-two punch in the backfield for the first time in coach Mike McCarthys tenure. However, there are enough questions about each guy that its nothing close to a given. Grants leg injury was serious, and hes already 28 years old, not washed up for sure, but nearing the age where running backs can decline rapidly. Starks simply doesnt have enough pro carries to prove whether hes durable or secure with the ball. Jackson is never going to be an every-down back and for that reason, he was a bad pick at D2, but hes been the teams best third-down back year after year. That role is almost as important as a starters. Why the Packers continue to keep three fullbacks is a mystery, especially given the fact that Johnson isnt good on special teams. This might be the year they finally dump one of them.

The future


Jackson stands a good chance of returning in his third-down role in part because the Packers value that and in part because its unlikely theres another team that would sign him to be a ball carrier. Kuhn found a role as a short-yardage back and probably will return. Hall has been a core special teams guy and also should return, but he tends to get injured late in the season so perhaps they will move on from him. The big question, though, is whether Ted Thompson will draft another halfback. Some think theres a chance he would take Mark Ingram of Alabama if hes still there at No. 32. But more likely is that Thompson would pick a mid-round back and take his chances that way. Of course, theres always the possibility he wouldnt add a back. Considering how pass-happy the Packers have become, and with good reason, maybe hed ignore the position all together. After all, he wouldnt pull the trigger on a mid-season trade for a running when the depth chart was a whole lot thinner.
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nerdmann
13 years ago
Trade Quinn Johnson to Denver. They need a lead blocker like him. Then again, he has learned to catch the ball effectively.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
wpr
  • wpr
  • Preferred Member Topic Starter
13 years ago
Packers draft needs by position: Running back By Tom Silverstein  

This is the first in a position-by-position series evaluating the Green Bay Packers needs entering the 2011 draft.

RUNNING BACK / FULLBACK

Need level: Moderate


On the roster: Ryan Grant, James Starks, Dimitri Nance, Quinn Johnson.

Free agents: Brandon Jackson, John Kuhn, Korey Hall

Outlook: This is Starks world if he wants it. The Packers havent had a back with his overall skills since Ahman Green. Starks revived a dormant running game at the end of last season and while he only averaged 3.9 yards per carry and had a long run of 27 yards, the game was not too big for him as a rookie. He has been labeled a poor mans Adrian Peterson by one member of the coaching staff and has just scratched the surface in most others view. Things wont be easy for Starks, who had a fumbling problem in college, but didnt cough it up once in 81 touches with the Packers. Teams will have tape on him and theyll start going after the ball. Ideally, Grant would come back and look more flexible and elusive than coming into the 2010 season when he appeared stiff and too bulked up. He was off to a decent start before suffering a season-ending injury in the opener. Starks could be Dorsey Levens and Grant, Edgar Bennett, in a job-sharing role reminiscent of the 1996 Super Bowl season. Starks never showed the good hands he had in college, but showed better blocking skills than Grant and could be the regular third-down back. Kuhn remains a vital part of the team and will be re-signed. Coach Mike McCarthy really liked Dimitri Nance and kept trying to use him, but to no avail. He could be the third down back that replaces Jackson, but more than likely thats where the draft comes in.

Eye-opening stat:
In the 32 games in which Grant, Starks, Nance and Jackson had more than one carry, only nine times did they average 4.0 yards per carry individually.

Whats available:
There arent many sure things in this draft, but GM Ted Thompson could pluck a someone on the second or third day who could help him right away. The long shot is that Alabamas Mark Ingram slide to him at No. 32, forcing him to make the selection because hes the best player available. Thompson remembers Ingrams father, Mark, from his brief stint in Green Bay, and may have some insight into how he ticks. Hes not a great receiver, but given the short shelf life of running backs it wouldnt be a stretch for him to consider Ingram. More than likely, hell wait. He might be able to get Cals Shane Vereen, a solid receiver and one-cut runner, at the end of the third, Hawaiis intriguing Alex Green in the fourth or fifth or sturdy Georgia Techs Anthony Allen in the sixth or seventh. Sitting at the end of each round will afford Thompson the chance to catch someone who is falling farther than expected.

Bottom line: This will be one of those spots where if the right guy pops up when its Thompsons turn to pick, hell grab him. Grants coming off a serious leg injury, Starks is all potential right now and theres little chance Jackson will be back. At the very least, he has to find someone who can catch out of the backfield and add a third-down dimension that McCarthys offense has lacked since he got here. New running backs coach Jerry Fontenot would be in charge of developing him.


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