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The Green Bay Packers may have one of the NFL’s best running tandems in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, but the competition to win a spot on the roster behind Jones and Dillon should be interesting to start training camp and pre-season.
Running team coach Ben Sermans said the battle for third place is “wide open” and won’t be settled until real football begins later this summer.
“All of these guys are well aware there’s an opportunity to sit there,” Sirmans said last week.
Jamal Williams is gone, opening the door for Dillon – third in relegation last year – to be a complement to Jones on the Packers backcourt and creating an opportunity for a young player to climb up to win a place out of the 53 players. List as the new number 3.
The Packers knocked out Mississippi Kylin Hill in the seventh round of the draft, but will have to contend with 2019 sixth-round pick Dexter Williams and list workers Mike Webber and Patrick Taylor for the job as third-running again in 2021.
Hill and Williams were both very talented runners in college, but playing in the NFL running requires a diverse skill set and earning the trust of the coaching staff, as well as the ability to run on special teams.
Talent alone will not be enough.
“It’s how productive you are when you’re in the game,” Sirmans said. “It’s not just running the ball, it’s catching the ball, it’s how you protect, can we trust you in a match to do the right thing. So it’s all of those aspects that make up our decision.”
As recently as 2020, Packers coach Matt Lafleur said he would prefer having three able-bodied players to run to help survive a marathon in the NFL season. General Manager Brian Gutkunst heeded the call, taking Dillon in the second round last season to build the position, both short-term and long-term. Adding an extra game to the regular season increases the need for quality depth in all positions, but this is especially true in running backwards where hits and injuries often accumulate.
Even a single hit to Jones or Dillon could put the number 3 in the spotlight.
One thing to note: Sirmans, an experienced running coach, has a proven track record of developing the center. Perhaps this will be the year everyone finally clicks for Williams, or perhaps Sirmans can push Hill to be a novice who is able to contribute right away.
The Packers will go into the summer with talented options below the running back depth chart but also need to identify the right player to work with Jones and Dillon in 2021.
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