Many Green Bay Packers fans expected to see running back Kaleb Johnson get his share of touches in the season opener, so it was rather surprising when he returned a pair of kickoffs and spent the rest of the game watching.
Deploying Johnson in the backfield makes sense in theory. Overextending MarShawn Lloyd wouldn't be ideal given his injury history, and typically, the Packers use Chris Brooks as a blocker and receiver more than a ball carrier. Josh Jacobs remains on the commissioner's exempt list.
For whatever reason, Johnson wasn't part of last Sunday's game plan. Lloyd and Brooks did what they could, but Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings exploited the lack of dynamic run-game production with an all-in pass rush. The Packers have nothing to lose by adding Johnson to the mix. They traded a draft pick for him, after all. Just give the guy a chance.
Packers need some thump, and Kaleb Johnson can help
Sunday's offensive line did the Packers' backs no favors. Lloyd and Brooks deserve credit for churning out 66 combined yards, albeit on 20 carries. Even that modest production won't hold up very long if they're being consistently hit behind the line.
If only to absorb some of the contact, adding another body to the rotation makes sense. Even a handful of touches for Johnson means a lighter burden for Lloyd. Maybe it's just time to take the training wheels off, but dismissing Lloyd's durability concerns after one healthy summer feels premature. On Sunday, he rushed 13 times for 37 yards.
Lloyd still has the most upside in the room, but Johnson offers a power-back profile that could better withstand poor offensive line play in the long term. Before being drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round, Johnson led the Big Ten as an Iowa senior with 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.
The caveat, of course, is that Johnson's life was made easy by a Hawkeyes offensive line packed with NFL talent. Not the disaster the Packers just put on tape.
Maybe Johnson simply couldn't get up to speed with the playbook in time, and that's why he sat. None of the Packers' options are exciting - Johnson averaged 2.5 yards per carry on 28 attempts last season - but a by-committee approach feels like the best strategy to maximize production.
Green Bay sent the Steelers a 2028 seventh-rounder to acquire Johnson. You don't trade assets, even piddling ones, for players you don't plan to use.
We all want to see Jordan Love cook, sure, but the Packers would likely prefer more balance than the 45-to-21 ratio of pass-to-run plays born of a spiraling game script and unthreatening rushing attack against the Vikings. Provided Johnson knows the plays, they may as well use him.
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