Green Bay Packers: Running backs finally impress in preseason
By Hunter Noll
It only took three weeks, but the Green Bay Packers running backs finally put together a strong showing on the ground in the preseason.
The Green Bay Packers thought they had their franchise running back with Eddie Lacy. For a number of reasons, though, he fell out of favor over the last two seasons. This offseason, Lacy wasn’t brought back to the team. To take his place, the Packers have Ty Montgomery, a former wide receiver.
Montgomery is definitely more of a receiving back, but he has his moments running the football. Behind him, the Packers brought in a ton of rookies.
Between the rookies and Montgomery, Green Bay was hoping someone would stand above the rest this preseason, and show potential as a major weapon in their offense. Instead, the Packers got two-straight weeks of quarterbacks leading the team in rushing to open up the preseason.
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Week 3 finally saw some change though. It was rookie running backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams joining Ty Montgomery to form a strong trio in the backfield. Jones ran the ball six times, picking up 43 yards (including a long of 28). Meanwhile, Montgomery ran three times for 31 yards (including a long of 25) and a two-yard touchdown. Finally there was Williams. While he didn’t run particularly effectively (four yards on three carries), he did reel in three catches for 46 yards.
Not many spots are promised when it comes to the running backs. Heading into camp, Montgomery was probably the only one with a guaranteed roster spot. Not even he was a lock to start though. Through two weeks, no running back had made a strong case for being on the roster. Even Montgomery was struggling.
Seeing three breakout performances in the “dress rehearsal” game of the preseason is big news, though. Seeing Ty Montgomery have a strong showing gives the Packers hope that he can bring back that magic he had last year.
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After him, no backup has really been established. Hopefully Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams can spark the rest of the rookies to follow suit. If not, they may just find themselves with roles on the Week 1 roster.