The Packers Needs To Find A Way To Create Explosive Runs

After a four-week rollercoaster ride to start the season, we hopped off for a little break during an early bye week. However, because of the early bye, the Green Bay Packers (and their faithful fans) now face a marathon for the rest of the season. 

Throughout the first four weeks, we saw many highs from the Green Bay offense. Jordan Love was featured near the top of every counting stat and advanced metric through four weeks despite a plethora of injuries to the offensive line and receivers. Green Bay's run game has also been sputtering to start the season, and explosive runs have been few and far between.

There are many reasons why Green Bay’s offense has been unable to generate explosive runs, but the main one is injuries to the offensive line. 

Green Bay's most-used offensive line combination has played less than 40% of snaps and includes two backups. However, when the line was at its healthiest early in the Lions game, they still couldn't run the ball. Still, that is a tiny sample size. As the Packers return from the bye with more players healthy, the line will have the chance to prove its run-blocking ability. 

If it doesn’t improve, LaFleur and Stenavich may need to consider some changes. Through four weeks, Darian Kinnard has been their best offensive lineman and is making a case to stay in the lineup.

Still, the offensive line has been far from the only issue with the run game and the lack of explosive plays. For how awesome Josh Jacobs has been, he also deserves some of the blame. Per Wendell Ferreira, Jacobs' yards after contact per attempt are down from 3.45 last season to 2.98 this season. His elusiveness rating is also down from 87.1 to 46.3. 

Green Bay’s line hasn’t been able to create space for Jacobs. They also weren’t able to last year when Jacobs averaged just two yards before contact per rush. Still, it’s even worse this year at 1.6 YBCON/ATT, per FantasyPros. Jacobs is fantastic, but he still needs to improve. However, it’s tough to create yards after contact and be elusive when opponents are hitting you immediately at the line of scrimmage. 

Being an explosive runner is not Jacobs' game, and nobody in Green Bay’s running back room excels at it. However, MarShawn Lloyd is capable of explosive plays when healthy, and I think Brian Gutekunst and his staff recognized that element as a need for this offense when they drafted him a year and a half ago. 

For years, even with Aaron Jones, they never had a true home-run hitter at running back. It was extremely exciting when they added a player like Lloyd to pair with Jacobs, but after 21 games, we’ve rarely seen it on the field.

The frustrations that have stymied Lloyd throughout his young NFL career continue, as he’s still not ready to return to practice after the bye week. However, when he does come back, he should assume a role right away and provide the team with a much-needed explosive element out of the backfield. 

If Lloyd cannot get healthy or make an impact this season, Gutekunst and his staff should find a player who can bring that element out of the backfield this offseason, either in the draft, free agency, or via trade. 

With Lloyd still sidelined, LaFleur will have to get creative in finding ways to create explosive run plays. One way he could do this is by using Savion Williams more in the run game. 

Last week, I wrote about how the rookies have been impressive, but I haven’t loved how the Packers have used them. The insistence on using Golden as an end-around guy when he was never that in college has been incredibly infuriating. 

It’s especially frustrating when they drafted Williams two rounds later, and he’s exactly that type of player. While I don't love how often LaFleur calls end-arounds, when he does, all of them should go to Williams. 

This is also a spot where they miss Jayden Reed. Although he has had his fair share of infuriating end-around carries, he has also mixed in some huge explosive plays on them. If LaFleur is going to insist on calling them consistently, it’d be nice for a few to become explosive plays, and Reed has proven his ability to do that.

Outside of end-arounds, I’d also love to see them use Williams more as a traditional runner out of the backfield. The one time they used him there, it produced a big gain that should’ve gone for more. I don’t want to see them pound him up the middle, but I’d love to see him get a few more opportunities to get a carry on the edge. 

The Packers have also used him once as a wildcat quarterback, and it produced another big run that should’ve been bigger.

As much as I don’t want Love to not be the guy behind center with the way he’s playing right now, the run game could use it. Williams played a lot of wildcat QB in college, and he gained 322 yards on 51 carries (6.3 YPC) and six touchdowns in 2024. It shouldn’t be a staple of the offense, but it should be something they try more often to get the run game going.

If the run game improves, this can be the best offense in the league. It's already in the top tier. Getting healthy will help, and there are ways to get more out of the run game even before some key players return.