Green Bay Packers: Top players under-25 (The non-rookie edition)

5. Aaron Ripkowski

The reason you don’t hear a peep about John Kuhn (KUUUUUHN!) no longer serving as the offense’s multi-faceted fullback is due to Ripkowski’s immediate emergence as both a lead blocker and power back.

Rip’s presence in the backfield proved invaluable in 2016, as the team was often left with no other option but to hand the ball off to their 246-pound pile driver as a result of injuries and a lack of depth at running back.

The 24-year-old was effective out of one and two-back sets along with displaying surprising vision with the ball in his hands. On the year, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry on his 34 handoffs—not the type of total you’ll often find on the back of a fullback’s football card.

Overall, he was PFF’s No. 2 fullback in the rushing category, but don’t expect Ripkowski to become the next Jim Taylor any time soon.

With the influx of new running back’s on the roster, his top priority will be to block linebackers.