Green Bay Packers 10 Keys to Success: #4 Aaron Jones

The Green Bay Packers running game has been inconsistent for years but they now have someone they believe can be a star in Aaron Jones.

The Green Bay Packers’ running game is not one of the first things that come to mind when you think about this franchise.

The Packers are a team that has had great quarterbacks such as Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers. Naturally, the passing game is what comes to mind when people think about this team.

With that said, as we look back at the 2019 offseason, GM Brian Gutekunst was focused on taking pressure off of Rodgers, and adding to the defense both in free agency and in the draft did just that. But a strong running game is something else that will go a long way towards making it so that Rodgers does not have to be superman for the team to win.

Enter Aaron Jones who has been a dynamic player ever since entering the league. His talent was evident from the moment he stepped on the field in a regular-season game.

Although Jones was the second of three running backs drafted in the 2017 draft, to date he has a career yards-per-carry average of 5.5. To contrast that, Jamaal Williams has a 3.7 yards-per-carry average. There’s really no question who the more dynamic runner is.

Despite that, Jones is not nationally recognized as one of the top runners in football. Last season, he missed time with a suspension that gave control of the backfield to Williams as the team’s primary starter.

But even with the numbers that Jones did put up once he returned, former head coach Mike McCarthy would not give him primary reps for the majority of the season, despite his numbers that seemed so prevalent to everyone else.

While Jones is a good runner he does have some flaws, such as he’s not a great player in the passing game. With that said, he’s not a liability but his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield did come into question.

In addition to that, what likely gave McCarthy pause was that Williams was a much better pass blocker than Jones last season but that’s something that running backs coach Ben Sirmans has stated he is no longer worried about. This is a positive for the Packers because they need more dynamic players on their offense.

While Williams certainly has a role on the team, dynamic players like Aaron Jones are the ones that make offenses go. If we were looking at it from a passing game standpoint, Williams is more of a possession receiver, while Jones is a big-play threat.

Both players have value, but the big-play threats are the ones that keep opposing defensive coordinators awake at night.

Jones has struggled in his young career to stay healthy as he’s dealt with hamstring injuries, and a knee injury each of his first two seasons. Jones has already missed time this year in training camp with a hamstring injury as well, which has led to some wondering if he would be able to carry the load for a full season.

Ultimately, the Green Bay Packers need Jones because behind him at the running back position there is not much to write home about at this point. Williams is what he is and Dexter Williams is someone they had high hopes for, but he’s struggled throughout the preseason.

Running back is a position that in the outside zone offense requires depth, but the Packers have very little of it.

If the goal is to keep pressure off of Rodgers, the best way to do that is with a dynamic running game that allows for play-action passing to become even more deadly than it has been.

Jones is the player on the roster that could become similar to Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints and that’s the type of player the Green Bay Packers’ offense will need to make everything else work.

For the offense to run the way Matt LaFleur wants it to run, Jones will be the key that keeps the engine running.