Which backup running back could make a push?

The Packers have, in theory, a pretty well-established trio at the stop of their running back depth chart. Josh Jacobs, he of the offseason mega-deal, isn’t going anywhere. Neither is MarShawn Lloyd, one of the Packers’ 2024 third-round picks, regardless of his injury situation in the short term. He’s going to be on the roster. And rounding out that trio is AJ Dillon, one of the longest-term members of the current expression of the football team that is the Green Bay Packers.

It’s possible that the Packers could keep four running backs, but for the sake of this piece, let’s say the Packers only wanted to keep three on their regular-season roster. And let’s say, without naming any player in particular, that after one preseason game, there was one running back whose performance in that game was in line with all of the previous negative observations about his game. If that player were to be deemed vulnerable to be cut, who would be the most likely player to take his spot?

Again, this isn’t about any one player in particular, I really just wanted to talk about the back half of the Packers’ running back depth chart. Hypothetically, at least. So let’s talk about some of the potential running backs who could, pardon the pun, make a run at the roster.

Emanuel Wilson returns for another shot at the roster

Let’s start with Emanuel Wilson, the most established of what we could call the “backup trio” right now. Wilson made the Packers’ initial 53-man roster last year as the fourth of four running backs, and hung around the periphery of the 2023 Packers for the entire season. He appeared in seven of the Packers’ first 10 games, though he only touched the ball in five of those seven, and his overall statistical production was unremarkable. He carried the ball 14 times for 85 yards, with 31 of those yards coming on a single run during a late clock-killing drive in the Packers’ 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. And, funnily enough, Wilson ran out of bounds on that play.

An injury in the Packers’ second win over a Los Angeles-based team last year derailed his season. Wilson dislocated his shoulder during the Packers’ 23-20 win over the Chargers, and spent nearly two months on the shelf in recovery. But an accumulation of injuries to AJ Dillon opened the door again late in the year, and Wilson actually played a noteworthy role in the playoffs. He played 15 snaps against the Cowboys in the Packers’ Wildcard Round romp, carrying eight times for 15 yards. Then, a week later, he touched the ball on all five of his offensive snaps in the Packers’ loss to the 49ers, carrying four times for 16 yards and catching one pass for 11 yards.

Wilson is a good but not great athlete. His best attribute is his straight-line speed, though it takes some explaining. A raw 4.55 40-yard dash isn’t all that impressive, but he recorded that time at 228 pounds, giving him a speed score of 106.4. (Speed score is a metric that weights 40-yard dash times by weight, with times recorded at heavier weights being considered more valuable; a score over 100 is considered a good score.) He flounders a bit in the agility drills, but if you’re looking for a back to bring a powerful punch in a straight line, Wilson can do that. And at Fort Valley State, he did it quite effectively, averaging 6.8 yards per carry on 184 carries his final year there for a total of 1,252 yards.

Ellis Merriweather could move from practice squad to the active roster

After Wilson, Ellis Merriweather is the next longest tenured back among the Packers’ backup trio. He spent last summer with the New Orleans Saints but didn’t snag a spot on their active roster or practice squad, instead signing with the Packers in November. He stayed there for the remainder of the season and signed a futures deal in January.

Like Wilson, Merriweather is not an elite athlete, but is still above average. He, too, does not have elite agility numbers but recorded a 4.66 40-yard dash at 220 pounds. That’s only good for a speed score of about 93, but as far as undrafted free agents go, that’s not terrible. Also like Wilson, Merriweather has a 1,000-yard season to his name in the college ranks. In 2021, Merriweather carried 218 times for the University of Massachusetts, averaging 5.2 yards per carry to total 1,138 yards. However, his production tailed off substantially the next year. He still lead the team with 575 rushing yards, but averaged just 3.8 yards on 150 carries.

Jarveon Howard offers change-of-pace athleticism

Finally, the Packers added undrafted free agent Jarveon Howard after this spring’s draft to round out their running back room. The shortest and lightest back of the backup trio at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds, Howard makes up for his relative lack of size with the best overall athleticism of these three players. Wilson and Merriweather clocked just 6.83 and 5.49 respectively, in the widely used Relative Athletic Score, but Howard is a comparably excellent 7.93, bolstered by his excellent jumping numbers. His 4.53 second 40-yard dash time isn’t going to blow anyone away, and like his colleagues he struggled with the agility drills, but he still managed a speed score of 104.9; if nothing else, he can move his mass explosively.

Howard, too, was productive in college, lining up for Donald Driver’s Alcorn State University. In 2022 he ran for 1,275 yards on 250 carries (5.1 per attempt) before following that up with 773 yards on 153 attempts in 2023. I guess there’s just something about your effective running back’s usage dropping off the year after he puts up a great stat line.

Can any of these players land themselves a spot on the roster?

Of the backup trio of running backs, I think Emanuel Wilson is the one to watch right now. The Packers are fairly conservative about moving on from established veterans and tend toward incumbents on the roster, but if they were going to swap out one of their top three running backs (and again, who’s to say which one!), Wilson has to be the prime contender right now. He’s a familiar face, has a good enough athletic profile, and runs hard and willingly when called upon. Is he the most athletically interesting back? No, but Wilson benefits from essentially always having been the same kind of back. He wasn’t a “run away from you” back in college who had to adjust his game in the NFL. He’s always been a power back, and he knows his skill set as well as anyone. If the Packers were looking to add a little power to their backfield, he’d be the guy.

Howard would be next in line after Wilson. He’s got a little more juice than either Wilson or Merriweather; even in limited reps on Saturday you could see moderately explosive differences in his running style. If someone ahead of him falters, he could have a shot.