Most Interesting Prospects: Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten

I can’t give you a long windup on this piece. I just love Bhayshul Tuten too much.

There are quite a few interesting running backs in this year’s draft, but when I flipped on Tuten’s highlights, it was love at first sight.

He’s quick, he’s agile, he’s strong through contact, he can do good things in the passing game, and he can flat-out fly in the open field. What else do you want?

Well, if you’re Brian Gutekunst, what you’re going to want is size, the one thing Tuten doesn’t have. At just 5-foot-9 and 206 pounds, Tuten is nobody’s idea of a big, bruising back. Normally, that wouldn’t be particularly relevant but the Packers have become extremely rigid about their running backs over the past few years.

Gutekunst likes his backs big and burly. The Packers have three backs on the roster right now and Emanuel Wilson is still waiting to sign his exclusive rights free agent contract. Of those four backs, none of them weigh less than 219 pounds and two weigh 225 or more. Gutekunst. Wants. Big. Backs.

And, look, it’s working for him. The Packers’ ground game last year worked. Every back who touched the ball got the job done, and with Aaron Banks at left guard and Elgton Jenkins elevating the Packers’ level of play at center, there’s a good chance everything is going to work well again next season.

But that doesn’t mean Gutekunst shouldn’t break the mold a bit — or maybe just stretch it.

The Packers haven’t been this uniform at one position in as long as I can remember, but I’ve long argued that Gutekunst’s tendency toward stashing similar body types at a position is a problem, albeit a minor one. Having a bunch of guys that move and play the same because they’re all shaped the same way does simplify your game planning, but I think it also makes you easier to defend. If all your backs stress the defense in the same way, you’re shrinking the pool of plays from which you can draw. Emanuel Wilson or MarShawn Lloyd might offer fresh legs when they come in for Josh Jacobs, but if they all play the same, what advantage is there to playing one over the other?

Tuten, the diminutive dynamo, solves that problem. He’s a change-of-pace back in the best way, changing the pace to “ludicrous speed” as soon as he touches the ball. Whether he fits with the Packers’ size plans or not, that’s an interesting skill set.

It’s probably a mistake for the Packers to take a running back in this year’s draft, but it’s a good and compelling class and if they were going to take a swing on somebody, I’d be interested in Tuten.