Green Bay Packers 2020 roster preview: Jamaal Williams
Jamaal Williams enters a contract year in 2020.
In his first season in Matt LaFleur’s offense, Green Bay Packers running back Jamaal Williams showed his ability to play on all three downs.
This offseason, the Packers strengthened their running back depth by drafting AJ Dillon in the second round.
How will this impact Williams’ role in LaFleur’s offense?
2019 stats
Williams had 107 carries for 460 yards and a touchdown. He caught 39 passes for 253 yards and five touchdowns.
2019 review
Williams had a solid season as the number two back behind Aaron Jones. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry, a career-best, although he did have fewer rushing attempts and therefore fewer yards than in the previous two seasons. Williams played an important role as a pass-catcher and he set a new career-best in receiving touchdowns.
Odds of making roster: 90 percent
It would make no sense for the Packers to cut Williams ahead of the 2020 season given the contributions he can make on offense and that he’s on a rookie contract. But given the addition of Dillon in the second round of the draft, it has to be at least be considered a possibility.
That said, I fully expect Williams to be an important part of LaFleur’s offense this season, even if he ends up as the third-string running back behind Jones and Dillon.
What to expect in 2020?
With added depth at running back, one thing to watch throughout the summer will be how LaFleur plans to distribute the snaps. Jones is the Packers’ best running back and he’s going to be on the field a lot.
There will be competition for snaps at the number two spot between Williams, Dillon, and possibly second-year Dexter Williams.
Jamaal Williams can play on all three downs and is a capable pass-catcher, so he’ll have a role in this offense even if Dillon gets a lot of snaps early on. There’s a good chance LaFleur will follow Kyle Shanahan’s lead and go with a running back-by-committee, led by Jones but also featuring Williams and Dillon a lot.