Green Bay Packers Have an Answer at Running Back in Kaleb Johnson

It would be funny if it weren't so sad. If it wasn't the Achilles heel that could end up ruining this season for the Green Bay Packers, the historic lack of a run game has almost been hilariously inept.

You know those times when you have to laugh to keep from crying? It feels a bit like that.

The Packers rushed for 100-plus yards as a team for the first time all season in Week 9 in their dominant win over the New England Patriots, but even that hasn't changed the standings.

Heading into Week 10, the Packers are dead last in the NFL from a rushing perspective. They're averaging just 68.2 yards per game on the ground as a team, which is just behind the 4-5 Las Vegas Raiders (71.3 rushing yards per game), who just traded their starting quarterback. 

Earlier this season, we were looking at historic levels of ineptitude. After rushing just nine times for only 17 yards against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, the Packers were on track to have the worst rushing attack in NFL history, behind the 1947 Boston Yankees. 

That's not good company. We're talking about the Boston Yankees. Real sports fans know that's an oxymoron, if there ever was one.

After Week 9, there is at least a glimmer of hope, though.

Interestingly, it doesn't come from Josh Jacobs, who could be hitting the injured reserve with a broken ring finger.

The Packers averaged 4.0 yards per carry against the Patriots, led by second-year running back Kaleb Johnson, who notched 68 yards and a touchdown on 4.9 yards per carry.

Johnson was a third-round pick out of Iowa for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, but he quickly fell out of favor with Pittsburgh's old staff as a rookie. The Packers traded a 2028 sixth-round pick to the Steelers to acquire the former Hawkeye just before Jacobs hit the commissioner's exempt list due to his legal issues.

Johnson is a strong straight-line runner whose experience at Iowa made him a natural fit for Green Bay's running scheme. He also proved in college to be a workhorse, so he was absolutely worth the trade compensation for Green Bay. In 2024 at Iowa, he rushed 240 times for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Upon arriving in Green Bay, Johnson was thrown into the mix in the "running back committee" room alongside MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks. He got a few opportunities early on, but wound up in head coach Matt LaFleur's doghouse after a costly fumble inside the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' five-yard line late in Green Bay's 17-14 Week 4 win. 

The Packers had a chance to put that game away, but Johnson's fumble made it much closer than it had to be.

"Well, I think a great teacher is the bench," LaFleur told reporters after the game "So, if guys don't start holding onto the ball, they're going to be sitting on the bench."

Kaleb Johnson could thrive in his second chance with the Green Bay Packers 

LaFleur backed up his threat by basically phasing Johnson out over the next few weeks, especially when Jacobs came back into the fold.

An opportunity opened back up for Johnson against the Patriots, though. Lloyd was sidelined with a knee injury and Jacobs went out with the aforementioned finger injury, which left it up to Johnson and Pierre Strong Jr.

The former Hawkeye took advantage of the opportunity and even scampered for Green Bay's longest run of the season so far (34 yards).

“I thought he did a good job,” LaFleur said of Johnson. “I thought when there were lanes there, he hit it. Obviously he broke a couple explosive runs. That was definitely encouraging to see.”

It's encouraging to see because the Packers might have an answer to their rushing ineptitude in Johnson. He's not the answer, but he's certainly an answer.

And at this point, what do the Packers have to lose?

This is a team that very well could be a Super Bowl contender if it figures out how to consistently rush the football, because otherwise, things look great. Jordan Love is playing at an MVP level and a defense that's second in the league in takeaways and playing great football is about to get Micah Parsons back.

It's time to give Johnson the ball and tell him to run forward and make something happen when he sees daylight. As long as he holds onto the ball, nothing can be worse than what we've seen so far in 2026 for the Pack.