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The Green Bay Packers look like they are getting healthy on the offensive line after the respite of an early bye week, and a more stable starting five may be the key to unlocking what has been a middling run game early in the season.
Zach Tom and Aaron Banks, the two highest-paid linemen on the team, both practiced Wednesday in a limited capacity as they look to ramp up and show they are ready to go against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday.
Star running back Josh Jacobs had one of the best years of his career in 2024, but regression was always a possibility this season due to how much of his success was self made.
Run blocking has not been a particular strength of offensive lines in Green Bay in recent years, but Jacobs was excellent at getting more than was blocked last year, ranking seventh in the NFL in yards after contact per carry with an average of 3.49.
He ran the ball 319 yards last year, and there is research which suggests running backs who take on a heavy workload in one season often experience regression the following year.
To sustain Green Bay’s level of rushing success in 2025, improvements to the run blocking were going to be needed, and to the team’s credit, they invested on the offensive line both in free agency and the draft in the shape of Aaron Banks and Anthony Belton.
However, at least in part due to injuries along the line in the first four games of the 2025 campaign, the required improvement in run blocking has not yet transpired, and with Jacobs not firing on all cylinders yet, the Packers’ overall run game has suffered.
Tom, their best lineman, went out with an injury in Week 1 and has played only a single snap since. Banks missed Week 1 and Week 4, and played through injury in Week 3 before coming out.
Even when Banks has played, he has not yet been able to show what made the Packers want to bring him in, with the injuries he has been working through likely playing a role in that.
This season, Jacobs’ yards per carry has fallen from 4.4 to 3.3 and his yards after contact is down to 2.98, which is 28th out of 58 qualified running backs.
The Packers have not generated enough chunk plays on the ground so far this year. They rank first in the NFL in explosive play rate via the pass, but only 14th when running the ball. That is not a terrible number by any means, but it can certainly be improved.
This is where MarShawn Lloyd’s injuries have potentially hurt Green Bay. He does not profile as a true bellcow back, but he is naturally a more explosive runner than Jacobs and seemed primed for a legitimate role in the offense had he been healthy.
Even without Tom and Banks in the lineup, there were signs of life from the Packers run game against the Cowboys. Jacobs had a season-high 3.9 yards per carry (which is still admittedly nothing to write home about), but his understudy Emanuel Wilson averaged 5.5 yards per rush.
Wilson proved himself to be a more than capable secondary back last year, and over the last two games is averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 14 attempts.
Matt LaFleur has been able to supplement the run game and somewhat make up for the lack of explosive plays with some well designed passes to the running backs, as well as some rushes by wide receivers, but he will want to be able to run the ball efficiently without the smoke and mirrors.
On the run game’s relative struggles this year, tight end Tucker Kraft said: “Last year we were so explosive, we had all these big plays, very consistent, especially in our downhill gap scheme runs.”
Kraft seemed to indicate Tom and Banks will be back on the field this week and believes their return should have a significant impact.
He said: “The run game (is) only as successful as our front can make it. With some of the positions we have O-linemen playing, who had to step up because of injury, they’re doing a great job, but when we don’t have our paid right tackle, we don’t have our paid right guard… now we do, so we’re excited to get it going.”
After two weeks to rest and recover, having Tom and Banks back in the lineup, and closer to their true selves, could make a big difference to Green Bay’s ability to open holes for Jacobs and company in the coming weeks.
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