The biggest takeaway from Matt LaFleur’s first offseason program as head coach of the Green Bay Packers: Running Backs are the foundation of his offense. Not only in the run game but in the passing game as well, backs will be featured extensively for Green Bay this upcoming season. Aaron Jones may be the lead work-horse and garner most of the attention, but without solid depth at the position, LaFleur’s offense will struggle. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the current running back depth chart of the Green Bay Packers, and highlight a few lesser-known names that could contribute to the team in 2019.

Aaron Jones

Starting with RB1, we have Aaron Jones. Jones is the hottest name around the Green Bay Packers organization right now and maybe one of the hottest in the league. He showed great promise in his 2017 rookie season, rushing for 5.5 yards per carry, but that was over just 81 attempts. His workload increased in 2018 as he became the featured back, but still over 133 carries, he was able to maintain 5.5 yards per rush for 728 yards. Those are impressive numbers, especially considering that his strengths were largely underutilized in Mike McCarthy’s system.

Not only is he a consistent threat as a ball carrier as his high yards per rush numbers show, but he’s also a dynamic pass catcher which is why so many fans are anticipating a breakout year in his first season under LaFleur. Last year in Carolina, Christian McCaffery’s production skyrocketed in his first year under offensive coordinator Norv Turner. He’d had an admirable rookie season eclipsing 1,000 yards from scrimmage but nearly doubled his production in year two rushing for 1,098 yards and hauling in 867 through the air.

Will LaFleur’s offense boost Jones’ production that dramatically? Time will only tell, but things are looking bright for number 33.

Jamaal Williams

While Jamaal Williams is perceived as playing second fiddle to Jones, it wasn’t always that way. Williams and Jones entered the NFL at the same time, both being drafted by Green Bay in 2017. Williams was a fourth-round selection while Jones went in the fifth. In their rookie season, Williams was given almost 75 more carries than Jones and led the team in rushing (556).

But even with a much higher volume, the production between the two players was very similar. Both rushed for four touchdowns, and Williams only had 108 more yards than Jones on his 72 more carries. Jones was given the slight nod over Williams in 2018, but Jones’ efficiency with the touches he was given blew Williams’ numbers out of the water.

While Jones has shown to be the superior player through two seasons, Williams still has a role to carve out for himself in Green Bay’s offense. Jones is a smaller ( 5’9’’, 208 lbs) more elusive runner while Williams is a much more powerful runner. His biggest strength is his ability to maintain balance through contact and continue to fight for extra yards. He lacks the burst that Jones has and isn’t nearly as effective catching the ball out of the backfield, but his hard running and ability to break tackles makes him a nice second punch for Green Bay’s backfield.

Tra Carson

Tra Carson came into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. In his three years in the league, he has only seen action in six games, all coming on special teams. Because he hasn’t seen any reps at running back since coming into the league, we have to go back to his college years at Texas A&M to analyze his game.

The thing that jumps out right away when watching this guy is his ability to run routes. Not only was he effective catching the ball out of the backfield for the Aggies, but they frequently threw him the ball out of the backfield and lined him up on the outside as well which created matchup nightmares for defenses.

What makes him such an impressive route runner isn’t his quickness or precision; it’s his size. At 5’11’’, 228 lbs, Carson is an absolute unit. Not many backs his size can work the passing game as effortlessly as he can, and in an offense where LaFleur is trying to get the backs involved in the passing game, it’s easy to see some potential with Carson.

Carson’s most notable collegiate achievement was becoming the first Aggie to rush for 1,000 yards in the SEC. He did so in 2015.

Preseason will be huge for Carson, who is still far from a lock to make the team. If he does earn a roster spot, his role will primarily be on special teams as it was a season ago. But if he can make plays and take advantage of his opportunities during training camp, don’t be surprised to see him sprinkled into a few passing sets during the season.

Dexter Williams

Williams is the newest back on Green Bay’s roster after he was selected in the 6th round out of Notre Dame by the Packers in this year’s draft. The pick Green Bay used on him was the pick they received from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for backup QB Brett Hundley.

Williams is the perfect embodiment of a 6th round selection; a guy with a whole lot of potential with equally as many question marks. First, let’s start with the things that are to like about Williams.

His size will translate exceptionally well at the NFL level (5’11’’, 212 lbs). At that size, he is not only an extremely powerful and strong runner, but he also has excellent agility and flexibility, which is rare for his size. He wasn’t given too many opportunities at Notre Dame but was very productive when he was. Those lack of opportunities also means he has a lot of treads left on his tires.

The concerns with Williams are almost all off the field. In 2018 he was suspended for four games for an undisclosed reason and was arrested in 2016 for possession of a handgun and possession of marijuana. We have seen players with legal baggage enter the league in the past, only to cause more headaches for their franchise. Williams could add much-needed depth to Green Bay’s running back room, but they likely won’t tolerate too many off the field incidents.

Ironically, Williams’ player’s comp by Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller was his new teammate Jamaal Williams. If Dexter continues to progress, we could see a Williams v. Williams battle for the backup role by the end of the season.

Ethan Knipfer is a writer at PFN covering the Green Bay Packers. You can follow him at @ethan_knipfer on Twitter.