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Green Bay Packers: 3 Day Three Running Back Prospects

By Kenny Jilek

MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Lamical Perine #2 of the Florida Gators breaks a tackle by De'Vante Cross #15 of the Virginia Cavaliers to run for a touchdown during the first half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Lamical Perine #2 of the Florida Gators breaks a tackle by De'Vante Cross #15 of the Virginia Cavaliers to run for a touchdown during the first half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Green Bay Packers
Darius Anderson, TCU Horned Frogs, (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Darius Anderson – TCU

Darius Anderson has some similarities with Perine in that they are both undersized backs, Anderson only standing 5’10” and weighing 208 pounds. Where Anderson differs from Perine is that he is more of a shifty back and had some better tests at the combine, therefore making him a more viable option for this Green Bay Packers’ front office.

At the combine, Anderson’s broad jump of 128 inches was second among all running backs, and his 20-yard shuttle, a great estimator of explosiveness and change of direction, was 4.19 seconds, third in this running back class. He only ran a 4.61 40-yard dash and doesn’t have fantastic top speed, but his acceleration, quickness, and elusiveness make him an NFL back.

Being a shifty small back could help him carve out his niche in the NFL and the Green Bay Packers have a need for that right now. Aaron Jones can do many things to shake defenders and Jamaal Williams is more of a power back. Having a guy like Anderson for a change of pace would be nice to have.

Don’t be fooled by his small stature, though. He still runs with a ton of edge to him and when he gets fired up he will bounce off tacklers and flex his muscles as a powerful guy.

As a small speed back, his burst through the hole is good, but not quite on the level of Perine. He finds holes and will hit them hard, but isn’t quite the tough as nails back that Perine is. However, he will use his elusiveness and juking skills to make some nasty jump cuts into the right gap.

Finally, he, like Perine, increased his capacity to catch the ball out of the backfield in his senior year. Again, looking at receptions, he had a total of 21 in his first three seasons, and had 22 in his senior season, doubling his receiving production.

I don’t have as much of a demand for Anderson as Perine, but also Perine is evaluated as a 4th or 5th round pick while Anderson will probably go in the 7th round if at all. So Anderson could be a great value at the end of the draft.

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