If the Green Bay Packers want to make the biggest splash possible at running back, the most obvious target they should have is Jonathan Taylor.
The Indianapolis Colts runner is on pace for nearly 1,300 rushing yards for a third straight season. That’s despite the fact his rushing yards per game average is at his lowest level of his career.
As a team, the Packers average 60.6 rushing yards per game. That’s almost 20 yards fewer than the next worst NFL rushing offense.
By himself, Taylor has 125 more rushing yards than the entire Packers roster this season.
Taylor, though, isn’t the only runner who could solve Green Bay’s rushing woes. On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport named the Packers a suitor for Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry.
While quarterback Jordan Love is playing at a high level so far this season, the run game has been completely inept. With Josh Jacobs out, the Packers couldn’t get anything going on the ground,” wrote Davenport. “It hasn’t been any better with Jacobs back—he’s averaging 2.3 yards per carry, and Green Bay is dead last in the league in rushing at an atrocious 60.6 yards per game.
“Enter Derrick Henry.”
Even with Henry not experiencing his best season this year, Davenport strongly encouraged the Packers to acquire the former 2,000-yard rusher.
“Green Bay doesn’t need to be a juggernaut on the ground. But if the team is going to not only make the postseason but do some damage once they get there, the Packers need at least some semblance of offensive balance,” added Davenport.
“Henry would help the Packers get it.”
Why Packers Should Target Derrick Henry
Green Bay saw its backfield as adequate enough to survive Josh Jacobs’s early-season absence. The Packers then saw Jacobs giving the team a boost whenever he returned.
Neither one of those things, though, has been the reality.
The Packers don’t have a 100-yard rushing game this season. With Jacobs back in the lineup the past two weeks, Green Bay has averaged 63 rushing yards. That’s only a slight uptick from the 59.8 rushing yards the team averaged without Jacobs.
Green Bay could fall back on the idea the offensive line will continue to improve during the second half. Jacobs could hit his stride during the stretch run too.
Or, the Packers could not take any chances and acquire a former rushing champion.
If that’s Taylor, then it could cost around a first-round pick, which the Packers already don’t have next spring. Henry would be a cheaper option and could have a similar short-term impact on Green Bay’s offense.
With the Ravens, Henry has 689 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in nine games this season. He’s only averaging 3.9 yards per carry, but he’s played with a backup quarterback a majority of the campaign.
With the NFL’s leading passer in Jordan Love, there could be more running lanes for Henry even behind Green Bay’s below average offensive line. Just the threat of Henry could also give Love better passing looks.
Henry is a three-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler. He’s posted 13,707 rushing yards with 130 touchdowns in 162 NFL games.
Baltimore could be sellers at next week’s deadline because the Ravens fell to 4-5 Thursday night.
What Impact Will Josh Jacobs Have on Packers Trade Deadline Moves?
Pundits linked the Packers to multiple running backs early in the season because of Jacobs’s absence. That ended when the 3-time Pro Bowler returned in Week 7.
But with new domestic violence allegations surfacing, Jacobs again has an uncertain status going forward.
While he’s made clear that he isn’t worried about potentially missing more time, NFL insiders such as Ian Rapoport have noted Jacobs could face a suspension depending on the league’s reopened investigation.
That could make adding a running back a priority for Green Bay before Tuesday. The league’s trade deadline is November 10 at 4 pm ET.
Jacobs scored 28 touchdowns in his first 32 regular season games for the Packers from 2024-25. He also had 2,882 yards from scrimmage.
His production has been badly missed in Green Bay’s offense.
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