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There is hope yet that the Packers can get their wayward running game back on track. But if they can’t, the NFL folks at Pro Football Focus have a suggestion, and he’s only a mere two hours to the southwest: Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen.
The Packers, of course, have been linked for months to a better-known Badger, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, but they are said to be no longer interested in making a deal there. But the fact that they were interested in Taylor at all says a lot about where the team sees its running back duo of Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon heading.
Green Bay needs to reset the ground game, and Allen—projected as a fringe first-rounder on the high side and an early third-rounder on the low side—might be an ideal target for the Packers, who have two second-round picks (their own and that of the Jets, thanks to the Aaron Rodgers deal).
Wrote PFF: “Allen is a big, physical back with an 84.1 grade on zone runs that ranks seventh in the FBS through four weeks in 2023. He also has forced 12 missed tackles and recorded 12 first downs on 32 zone carries.”
Packers May Need a New Direction at RB
Allen, a junior, tallied 2,510 yards in his first two seasons in Madison, with 23 touchdowns. He also totaled 21 catches in 24 games, for another 143 yards. This year, he has had one non-productive game, Wisconsin’s loss to Washington State in the second week of the year, when Allen went for just 20 yards on seven carries.
There’s little doubt the Packers would have interest. The run game has not been a strength, and the problems there have fed into some of the difficulties Packers quarterback Jordan Love has had this season, his first as the team’s unquestioned starter. Green Bay is 30th in rushing yards through four weeks, with just 298 yards total, for an average of 3.3 yards per attempt. That is 29th.
The Pack have had to deal with the hamstring injury to Aaron Jones, which he suffered in Week 1 and which kept him out in Weeks 2 and 3. He returned for Week 4, but the Packers got so far behind early in the loss to the Lions that they simply did not rush the ball much—27 yards on 12 tries.
Packers Backing Dillon — for Now
But it’s clear that the next few weeks are a make-or-break point for No. 2 back A.J. Dillon, who was unimpressive in taking the lead role when Jones was out and who has seen his explosiveness diminish in the past two seasons. He has just 118 yards on 44 carries this year, just 2.7 yard per rush.
Last week, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich defended Dillon, saying, “I know AJ is a good running back, and I know what we have. So I’m going to be confident and keeping leaning on those guys. I know he’ll come through.”
But there is no doubt that Dillon’s production with the Packers has gone backwards in his time in Green Bay. As a rookie, Dillon averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and appeared on a course to be Jones’ equal in the Packers backfield.
That number, though, slipped to 4.3 yards per carry two years ago, and 4.1 yards last season. Now, Dillon’s production has fallen off entirely. Still, the Packers are not putting that all on him—not yet, at least.
“I think it’s more of just getting more runs called,” added Stenavich. “Like I just said, when you’re second and long, it’s really hard to get the run game going when you have to throw the ball more. We got down in both games as well, so it’s just a matter of us being more efficient at the beginning to get the run game rolling.”
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