The Green Bay Packers are young at RB but they have a lot of talent on hand.  Getting Ryan Grant during the pre-season last year was a coup for the Packers as he really was a big key in the offense in the 2nd half of the season.  Grant ran with a good combination of power and speed.  He played in 15 games (7 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 188 times for 956 yards (5.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Grant also caught 30 passes for 145 yards (4.8 avg).  Look for Grant to improve on those numbers this season as he will be starting from day #1 n 2008.

Fellow 2nd year running back Brandon Jackson was the starter when the season started for the Packers before losing his job to DeShawn Wynn.  But, Jackson responded well late in the season which made the Packers’ front office happy with him.  Jackson played in 11 games (3 starts) last year for the Packers and he carried the ball 75 times for 267 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 16 passes for 130 yards (8.1 avg).  Look for Jackson to have better numbers in 2008.

DeShawn Wynn showed that he has some talent but he will need to stay healthy to really achieve his full potential.  Wynn played in 7 games (4 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 50 times for 203 yards (4.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 9 passes for 73 yards (8.1 avg).  Wynn has the potential to be more than a backup if the guys in front of him on the depth chart go down to injury.

Vernand Morency was buried on the depth chart behind all of the rookies and it will be interesting to see how he responds to this challenge.  Morency played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Packers last season and he carried the ball 29 times for 108 yards (3.7 ypc).  He also caught 30 passes for 199 yards (6.6 avg).  It appears that Morency will not ever live up to the potential that many thought he had coming out of college.  Morency has now played in 39 games (3 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 171 times for 726 yards (4.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also has caught 57 passes for 404 yards (7.1 avg).

Noah Herron will have a hard time making the Packers this season.  He did not play a down last season for the Packers.  He has now played in 23 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 85 times for 273 yards (3.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also has caught 29 passes for 211 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Aaron Rodgers has bided his time behind future Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre and the Packers hope he was paying attention.  Rodgers has a strong arm and he can run the ball well.  He does not have the legendary threshold of pain that Brett Favre had as he missed a lot of time due to injury even as a backup.  Rodgers played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Packers last season and he completed 20 of 28 passes (71.4%) for 218 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 interceptions (106.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 29 yards (4.1 ypc).  No one really knows what to expect out of Rodgers but the Packers drafted two QBs this April and that speaks volumes.  Rodgers has now played in 7 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 35 of 59 passes (59.3%) for 329 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (73.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 11 times for 47 yards (4.3 ypc).

With Aaron Rodgers not being the picture of health in his NFL career the Packers decided to draft Brian Brohm out of Louisville.  Brohm would have been a top 10 pick if the entered the draft a year earlier and it wasn’t anything he did to cause his tumble as his numbers were still strong.  Brohm has a strong arm and he can make all of the throws needed to succeed in the NFL.  He will be a serious threat to Aaron Rodgers’ job in the future but he will likely be safe this season.  If Rodgers goes down to injury, Brohm might steal the starting job from him.

The third string QB will likely be Matt Flynn who was selected in the 7th round out of LSU.  All he did last year was lead LSU to the National Title in his first year as a starter.  He doesn’t have good arm strength but he’s mobile enough to roll the pocket and get himself out of trouble.  Flynn projects as a long term backup in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C

Brett Swain might not be the biggest receiver (6′0″, 200 pounds) and he’s not exactly a speedster but he just seems to get the job done.  At San Diego State, Swain played in 44 games (25 starts) and he caught 135 passes for 1,893 yards (14.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He will likely have to make the Packers on special teams as a lot of WRs are ahead of him on the depth chart.

The Packers selected a 2nd QB in this draft when they took Matt Flynn out of LSU.  Flynn is 6′2″, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.67 40 which ain’t bad.  Flynn only started one season at LSU but he lead the team to the National Title.  He played in 29 games (12 starts) at LSU and he completed 245 of 437 passes (56.1%) for 3,096 yards with 31 TD passes and 13 interceptions.  Flynn is a winner and he plays hard so don’t be surprised if he is the Packers’ #3 QB this season and maybe more in the future.

Breno Giacomini is a project for the Packers as he is a converted blocking TE.  He only started one season at tackle in college but he has some upside.  He is 6′7″, 304 pounds so he can probably add some weight to his frame.  He exhibits some real nastiness on the field and that should help him in the Black & Blue Division in the NFL.  He played in 48 games (14 starts) in his career at Louisville.  Don’t expect much from Giacomini this season but he could help the Packers out down the road.