More Opportunities for Green Bay Packers 3rd Running Back in 2022

It goes without saying, but we know that Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are going to receive the bulk of the touches at the running back position for the Green Bay Packers this season.

However, whether it be Kylin Hill when he’s healthy, Patrick Taylor, or undrafted rookie Tyler Goodson, could the Packers rely more heavily on their third running back this season than what they did a year ago?

I would still consider Hill the front-runner for that third running back role when he does return, but Taylor is a very good fit for this Matt LaFleur offense with his well-rounded skill-set, while Goodson is an under-the-radar name to watch with his ability as both a pass-catcher and ball carrier from his time at Iowa.

But regardless of who ends up as RB3 — and maybe it’s more than one player — there very well could be more opportunities for them in the Green Bay Packers offense this season.

In 2021, Hill was the Packers’ third running back until suffering his ACL injury but would appear in only four games on offense during the first seven weeks. During that span, he had 10 carries and two targets, according to PFF ($$). Taylor, who took over as RB3 in Hill’s absence, had just 12 attempts prior to Week 18 in Detroit, when many of the backups saw extensive action, and no targets.

At the end of the day, Matt LaFleur’s offense is Matt LaFleur’s offense, but adjustments will have to be made in Davante Adams’ absence.

In 2021 alone, Adams was targeted 169 times, which will now have to be absorbed by the rest of the team–not to mention that we may see the Green Bay Packers rely a bit more on the run game than what they have in previous years, given the unknowns at the receiver position. Ultimately, teams want to get the ball in the hands of their playmakers, and right now, that is Jones and Dillon.

This means that we very well could see their usage go up, whether that be in the run or passing games, which increases the importance of having a third running back to lean on in an effort to keep Jones and Dillon as fresh as possible. While it may not seem like much, even five snaps per week adds up over the course of a 17-game season.

If you recall, prior to the 2020 NFL Draft, when the Green Bay Packers selected Dillon, LaFleur expressed his desire to have a quality third running back that could be utilized to help keep, at that time, Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams more fresh, as well as having a plan in case an injury struck. I imagine LaFleur still feels the same way here in 2022.

Looking ahead to training camp and the preseason, step-one is that one of the other running backs needs to show that they are able to handle that added workload and that they can be consistently relied upon during games–LaFleur isn’t going to use a third running back more often just for the sake of doing so.

Perhaps this is one reason why we didn’t see much of Hill or Taylor last season because neither was quite ready. Hill was a rookie, and Taylor was essentially a rookie after missing just about all of the 2020 season with an injury.

We know that there is no replacing Adams in this offense, but rather, it is going to take a group effort to try to best mitigate his absence. And with both Jones and Dillon potentially seeing more touches this season, having a third running back to spell them from time to time could be quite valuable.