Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, David Bakhtiari OUT; 7 Packers inactive vs. Falcons

With the Green Bay Packers elevating Patrick Taylor and Innis Gaines from the practice squad on Saturday, the team has to make seven players inactive in order to be at the maximum number of 48 players available on game day. Three of those inactives will be Aaron Jones, Christian Watson, and David Bakhtiari.

Aaron Jones left last Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. After that game, Jones said that he could have returned if needed, however, Jones did not practice all week either. Hamstring injuries often need time to recover from, and when Matt LaFleur was discussing Christian Watson’s hamstring injury prior to Week 1, he mentioned that they are going to approach his availability with the long haul in mind, and they wouldn’t rush him back for just one game. I would imagine the same thought process applies to Jones.

As we saw last week, this offense just operates differently when Jones is involved—whether that be in the run or passing games. In his place, the Packers have AJ Dillon, and they also elevated Taylor, but I would guess that Emanuel Wilson will be the secondary running back option, with how well he looked as a ball carrier during the preseason.

Although the Packers had an overall sound performance against Chicago, an area where they have to improve is in the run game. The Green Bay running backs averaged just 2.9 yards per carry in that game, with there being too few running lanes and Bears defenders running free into the backfield, specifically on toss plays or outside zone runs. This week, the Packers will be facing a tougher test up front, going up against Grady Jarrett and the Falcons, who ranked 10th in ESPN’s run-stop rate metric following Week 1.

Not having Jones also impacts the Green Bay passing game, as does not having Watson. Without Watson in Chicago, the Packers were still able to generate four plays of 30-plus yards, but two of them were created by Jones. The Packers young receivers face a difficult test as well, going up against a Falcons secondary that plays aggressively, challenging receivers at the line of scrimmage, and will utilize late movement to disguise coverages and cause some confusion.

Any potential success through the air for the Packers starts with the play of the offensive line. Moving the ball on the ground will keep Jordan Love out of predictable passing situations and open up the passing game along with setting up play-action. Time in the pocket will allow Love to go through his progressions and give the pass catchers additional time to get open.

Green Bay’s continued use of pre-snap motion will be crucial as well, as will maximizing their versatility to create mismatches, get pass-catchers in space, and keep the Atlanta defense guessing and off-balanced.

Bakhtiari did not practice at all this week, which was not different than what we saw Week 1. However, he was listed as questionable on Friday. Again, as LaFleur has said, the season is a marathon not a sprint. Even without consistent practice, Bakhtiari is still playing a very high level, and after just mentioning that success for the offense starts with the offensive line, that becomes a much greater challenge without Bakhtiari available.

My guess is that in his absence, we see Zach Tom stay at right tackle, and Rasheed Walker take over at left tackle, where he took the bulk of his snaps this summer. Through about the halfway point of training camp, it was clear that Walker was ahead of Yosh Nijman on the depth chart.

Along with Jones and Watson being out, as was the case last week, Zayne Anderson, Caleb Jones, Anthony Johnson, and Brenton Cox.

Anderson was claimed off waivers following roster cutdowns and is in Green Bay to contribute on special teams. However, early on anyways, the Packers have preferred to go with Gaines, who has more experience in the system and also brings additional cornerback depth. Tackle is a position of depth for the Packers, which is why C. Jones is inactive again.

With both Johnson and Cox, they are developmental rookies. Johnson is not only in his first NFL season but it’s just his second at the safety position in general. I would expect this year to be a red shirt-like season for him. Cox, meanwhile, is in a very competitive edge rusher position group, that the Packers went heavy at on the 53-man roster by keeping six. The Green Bay edge rushers dominated the Bears offensive line in Week1.