Green Bay Packers: 3 Mid-Round Running Back Prospects

In a move that was unexpected by many in the Green Bay Packers fan base, Aaron Jones signed a four-year deal to stay in Titletown, and he will be the feature back again in 2021 with A.J. Dillon as his running mate. Even so, the depth at the position drops off significantly after those two, and they could still add another element to their offense with a smaller speed back to change up speeds and give defenses a different look.

There are always productive backs that slip to later rounds for a myriad of reasons. These three today are all because they’re smaller, and teams are not likely to spend a top-100 pick on a running back who they don’t see as a workhorse that could be their number one guy.

Don’t be fooled by their day three pick tag or their size; all of these guys have plenty to offer in slightly different ways and could all be contributors in some way this year and take on even bigger roles down the line.

Javian Hawkins – Louisville

Javian Hawkins is a prospect to get excited about on day three of the draft. At only 5’9″ 196 pounds, he doesn’t have the stature to be a number one guy, but the Green Bay Packers aren’t looking for that at all with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon in their backfield.

Hawkins offers a perfect mix-up to these two guys with elite speed and explosion. Hawkins is a home run hitter and is always looking for the big play. He reverses field often when he can’t find a lane on the play side, and that could hurt him in the NFL with better defenders, but it often worked out for him in college.

One big reason Hawkins is a good fit in Green Bay is that he already has plenty of experience running behind zone blocking and did it extremely well at Louisville, averaging 5.9 yards per carry over his career. His vision is impeccable, and his quickness allows him to make lightning-fast jump cuts from one gap to another when he sees an opening.

In the open field, Hawkins is strong enough to break an arm tackle but won’t be trucking any defenders like Dillon. He will, however, often elude them with a combination of jukes and spins that he has in his repertoire.

Hawkins’ biggest weakness is in the pass game, where his small stature makes it hard for him to take on blitzing linebackers, and he is often out of position to block them in the first place. He also only made a total of 21 catches in college, but he definitely has huge potential on screens to get into space and let his explosiveness run wild.

Overall, Hawkins would be a great value for this offense in the fourth round. He won’t be carrying the ball much, but he’d add some great speed to the offense and give them an extra dimension that could help them give defenses some extra looks to think about.