Packers Running Back Returns From Long-Term Injury

The Green Bay Packers have been dealing with all kinds of injuries throughout 2022 season. However, the team finally got some good news on the injury front with the return of one of their more promising offensive playmakers.

On Wednesday, November 2, the Packers announced on their team website that running back Kylin Hill was activated to the 53-man roster. Hill had started the 2022 season on the physically unable to perform list due due to a knee injury he had suffered the previous season. The 24-year-old running back had been placed on injured reserve almost exactly a year before, suffering a torn ACL on a kickoff return against the Arizona Cardinals.

Hill gives the Packers a third running back behind Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. The team had cleared room for Hill by releasing fellow running back Patrick Taylor, with the assumption that Taylor will be brought back onto the practice squad.

With all of the injuries that the Packers have suffered this season, fans needed a little bit of good news.

Kylin Hill Could Bring a Spark to Green Bay’s Offense

Even if he’s farther back on the depth chart, there’s a legitimate chance that Hill could be worked into the offense at some point during the 2022 season.

Coming out of high school in Columbus, Missouri, Hill was a 4-star recruit and the sixth-ranked running back in the 2017 recruiting class. Despite offers from top programs including Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss, Hill decided to play for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, where he had a real impact for the SEC program.

After appearing in every game as a true freshman, Hill took over as the starting running back for the Bulldogs in 2018. His peak came as a junior in 2019, earning second-team All-SEC honors and was awarded the Conerly Trophy for the top college football player in the state of Mississippi after rushing for 1,350 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Hill started the 2020 season, but later opted out of the COVID-shortened campaign to prepare for the draft. It took a while for his name to be called in the 2021 NFL Draft, but the Packers eventually took him with the 256th overall pick in the seventh round.

The young running back saw limited action behind Jones and Dillon, but still saw some touches along with reps as the team’s kickoff return man. Given that he was injured returning a kickoff, it’s unlikely that he’ll be thrown back out there, but the team could try to give him some touches on offense like they did in 2021 to take some of the workload off of the team’s top two running backs.

Aaron Jones is Having a Career Year

However, there’s a chance that the Packers may not want to give Jones a rest, because the veteran running back is having arguably the best season of his career.

After rushing for 143 yards on 20 carries, Jones has now rushed for 575 yards while averaging an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Jones is second in the NFL with 53.8 percent of his carries going for more yards than expected.

With the Packers not making a trade for a wide receiver and angering some of the fan base, the offense will need to continue to rely on Jones and the rushing attack to open things up for Aaron Rodgers and the passing game. As long as he can stay healthy, Jones should keep getting plenty of opportunities to stuff the stat sheet and break off some impressive runs.