Packers elevate RB Kenyan Drake for Giants game
By Paul Bretl
Ahead of their Monday Night matchup with the New York Giants, the Green Bay Packers elevated running back Kenyan Drake from the practice squad. Here is what you need to know.
With Drake being brought up for tonight’s game, that means that the team will be without Aaron Jones, who was listed as questionable and practiced all three days this past week in a limited fashion. Drake was signed to the practice squad just a few days ago, and played two games with Baltimore this season before being released early in the year.
Drake rushed for 482 yards on 4.4 yards per carry with the Ravens in 2022. Throughout his career, he’s been active in the passing game, while as a runner, his two most productive seasons came in 2019 and 2020, where he totaled nearly 1,800 yards on the ground.
Despite just arriving in Green Bay, Matt LaFleur mentioned on Friday that there is some familiarity for Drake with the Packers’ play-calling lingo. Perhaps there will be an opportunity for a snap or two for Drake, but my guess is that he will be the emergency option, with AJ Dillon again handling the workload and Patrick Taylor used on obvious passing downs.
"“I think he’s a guy that’s played enough ball,” said LaFleur. “He’s been around enough ball. He’s done a nice job in our walkthroughs in practice. So we will just see where we are going into Monday night.”"
The Packers will be facing a Giants defense that is allowing 4.8 yards per rush this season, ranking near the bottom of the NFL in that category. As was the case against Kansas City, an effective run game can help limit some of the impact of New York’s blitz-heavy approach, and also open up play-action and downfield opportunities, where Jordan Love has been very good over the last month.
With the elevation of Drake being the only roster move made, that means cornerback Eric Stokes will be remain on injured reserve for another week. Stokes was a full participant in all three practices this past week.