It Looks Like The Packers Want To Draft A Running Back, They’ve Already Met With 3 RB Prospects
What are the Packers planning for?
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The Packers have one of the best backfields in the NFL in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. That doesn’t seem to be stopping them from targeting an RB in this upcoming NFL draft.
So far the Packers have met with 14 prospects. Each team can meet with up to 30. The position the Packers have met with the most is running backs with 3 having met with Green Bay so far.
Here are the 3 they have met with:
Keaton Mitchell, East Carolina
Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan
Evan Hull, Northwestern
According to NFL draft buzz all 3 players are projected to be drafted in Round 6ish or later.
Running back is not a major need right now. Considering who the Packers have met with it does not look like any premium picks will be used on a RB. It’ll likely be a late round flier. Who knows they could even just wait to pick up a UDFA RB after the draft.
We know that Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon will be in Green Bay in 2023, but is there any possibility things could change after this year?
Aaron Jones took a pay cut this off-season and is still under contract in 2024 as well. His cap hit for this year dropped from around 20 mil to about 8.1 mil. Right now his cap hit for 2024 is 17.7 million.
I’m a diehard Aaron Jones fan and I hope he stays around for years to come. He’s always full of joy and is now one of the key leaders on this team. The Packers could try to rework his contract next season to lighten the hit. There will likely come a day where they move on from Jones but that could be years out. It’s always nice to have a group of talented back ups on the roster in the case that you need someone to step up.
AJ Dillon is in the final year of his rookie contact and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. I really hope the Packers bring him back. He’s loved by the community and seems to be more involved in Wisconsin than any other player.
Would the Packers potentially move on if they had another RB on a cheap contract?
I hope not, but if Aaron Jones is still on the roster next year could the Packers manage to pay 2 running backs big money? I don’t think RB is the best place to stack a ton of your money. You can find cheap guys who can produce at a high level.
The Packers also have Tyler Goodson and Patrick Taylor on the roster. Both guys who have shown promise at times. Personally I think Goodson has a bright future. He had a ton of great runs in last years preseason.
Last year I was hoping Goodson would get a chance to be the Packers 3rd RB. I hope he gets a chance again this year. He’s got insane speed and agility. I think if he gets an opportunity he will thrive.
So the Packers do look like they are preparing to take a RB later in this year's Draft. If they didn’t plan on it I don’t know why they’d have already met with 3 running backs. They likely want to have some guys behind Aaron Jones and Dillon in the chance that they need to have cheap talent on the roster in the next few years. We will see if it actually happens in the next few weeks.