It's the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What's up everybody? This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast Network. And if you haven't heard yet, we started a club and we would love for you to join. It's called the Everyday Air Club. And one of the things that you get as a member is an ad-free version of the podcast that you're listening to right now. It works with whatever podcast app you already use. Same episodes every day, just no ads. There's also a member's only group chat for fans of your team, plus a lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everyday Air Club link in the show notes. Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. could be the player the Packers thought they were getting in AJ Dillon, but didn't. You are locked on Packers, your daily Green Bay Packers podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. You are locked on Packers, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Peter Bacowsky and I cover the Packers for the leap. A newsletter I would love for you to subscribe to. Thanks to everyone who makes Locked On Packers. They're first listen every day. We hope you like starting your day with us as much as we like starting our day with you here on the Locked On Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network. Another episode of Goody's Guys, which means we're going to break down a player. We're going to talk about their fit with the Green Bay Packers. And today we start our running backs. Mike Washington Jr., the running back from Arkansas has got a lot of AJ Dillon in his profile and they're not the same player at all. AJ Dillon was a little bit shorter, much thicker and not nearly as explosive, but they are straight line downhill runners. And AJ Dillon had a very good relative athletic score because he jumped high. He ran fast for his size, but the explosiveness never really showed up on the field. And he was someone who never played as big as his size suggested he could or he should. He was not someone that was going to grind out yards. He was built like Jerome Bettis, but decided that he wanted to play like, I don't know, Lawrence Moroni. Like he did not, he did not run with the force that you would expect from a player that size. And ultimately it's why his career has not gone the way that, you know, we thought it could. And he had a top hundred grade on AJ Dillon. I had a third round grade on him. They took him in the second. I thought it was around early. I could see a very similar path from Mike Washington Jr. who I have a third round grade on. And I think because of the depth of this running back class is probably going to go in the second round. Now the straight line speed and the explosiveness for Mike Washington, the difference with AJ Dillon is we're talking about a 100th percentile speed score accounting for his size at 223. This guy ran low four threes. We're talking about the greatest size speed athlete at the position ever. And I don't think he plays to that. Like he's got acceleration. He's got burst in the open field. You see the speed. He had a touchdown run against Ole Miss where once he breaks into the open, he's in like third gear. He didn't even have to make it to fourth gear. And there are times when I'm like, why does it seem like he's not fully opened up? And there's a play I'm thinking of where he's running up the sideline and he kind of it's like he's slowing down to match the pace of the guy chasing him. And then he accelerates and I'm like, if you had just accelerated, you might have scored. So there's some field questions that I have. And this goes back to his path. He spent three years at Buffalo, three years at Buffalo, then in New Mexico state where he was productive enough and then has this breakout season for Arkansas who did not have a normal Arkansas offensive line. They were not a great offensive line. There are plenty of times where it's like, man, if they could have blocked this up, there could have been something in any time they give him a crease, he's picking up big time yardage. Like I watched Jeremiah Love right before I watched Mike and there are some similarities there, honestly, because love does not have that wiggle in the open field that some of the elite running like the Saquans and the Gibbs and the Bijons, he doesn't have that either. And Washington, you really see it with Mike Washington, Jr. in the open field when he's one on one with the safety, he's either going to try and erase an angle or he's just going to run into the safety. He doesn't have that elusiveness in the open field. Now what's weird about that to me is in the backfield, he does have it. He's got that little start stop shuffle, slalom jump cut to create some, some space for himself. He's got good balance. If someone's right in his lap, he can avoid them and find the crease. He will get skinny through the crease to make sure that he can get where he needs to get to. And so he can, he can get more than is blocked at times. But then in the open field, he's a pretty straight line runner. Now if there's something there to block, like if there's something there to hit, he will hit it with burst. It was 75th percentile, Russian gave grade 75th percentile on zone and gap runs are in that range. 80th percentile in yards per carry after contact. So he did run through contact. Well, you can't date. You can't take him down high. He will hurdle you at times. I mentioned that Ole Miss play. That's like a 50 yard run. And he wants, he wants, he hits the open field. He's practically jogging. He's moving so fast. He does show nice hands down the field that a wheel route for an explosive play where he has to like reach back and make a tough catch. He hits it and stride and goes up the field. He's not a dancer. He's not someone who like a lot of these fast guys, what they want to do is dance, dance, dance, and they want to wait for that perfect hole. And then they, you know, they break into the outside and try and he's not that guy. He's not the fast guy who's like, you know what? I want to do every single play is get to the edge. That was say, Juan Barclay at Penn State too. Let me just get to the edge because if I can get to the edge, I'm going to outrun everyone to the end zone. He will get downhill when there's nothing there and just get two, three yards. When he hits the jets though, this guy can absolutely fly. He runs over his pads, plays well for his size. He's not a bruiser, but he also runs with the requisite power from someone who's, you know, in the, in the two twenties. He's not going to ever confuse anyone for natron means. I don't think Derek Henry is, is in the ballpark here, but he is, he is a tough runner. He had a great run against Notre Dame where he slithers through a little crack and then creates an explosive run. The problem is you see the good and the bad of Mike Washington, Jr. is then he can't make the safety missing space. It's like, if you could just make one move, you can be gone. He doesn't have that wiggle in the open field. He will put his shoulder into you in pass pro. He's strong through the contact point and can shuffle, then explode downhill. He's got, he gives good effort in pass pro, whether he's ever going to be a wall. I don't know, but he's, he's good enough there. He can jump cut and shuffle the final lane, but in the open field struggles to change direction. And I don't know if that's just field, feel or creativity or what, but it just is what it is with his run style at this point. He had a great TD run versus Texas where he cuts twice, then trucks a defender. I want to see him run with that force all the time. And that was again, this is where that comparison to AJ Dillon comes in. I want us, I know it's in there for AJ Dillon and he just didn't run like that consistently with that kind of power. And he's got the tools. He's got the talent. And this is the big difference to me is that breakaway speed that he has is just different than what it, like AJ Dillon, if you block up a 15 yard run, he can get you to the top of the 12 to 15. You block a 15 yard run for Mike Washington, Jr. It could be 60. And so that to me is the biggest difference with a player like this is the upside of what it could be on a team that could really use some explosiveness in the run game. It makes a lot of sense. Here's why I landed here on an offense with the offensive line can create some gaps for him. He can take a five yard run for most guys and make it 15. If there's a chance to rip off 20 yards, he'll rip off 30 or more. He doesn't play to his timed speed. And there are times that rather seem accelerate and maximize his yardage rather than try to get cute with defenders in the open field. He's not going to make guys miss, though he's very adept in the backfield creating space with shuffles and jump cuts to give himself a chance. He's patient until he needs to get going. And I like that about him. He reminds me of Darren McFadden with his tall linear explosiveness. The Arkansas offensive line sucked and he didn't get that many chances. But when he got them, he ripped off explosive plays regularly for an older player. He's going to be 23. I do think there's some untapped nuance here and potential and that size speed combo is tantalizing. I gave him a third round grade. Let's talk about his fit in green Bay next. This episode is sponsored by better help. Financial stress is something a lot of people are carrying right now and it's not just about numbers. 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Don't forget to check out the everyday air club that gives you ad free episodes of lockdown Packers plus a link to the group chat with other listeners of the show. And of course me, I'm there. Tap the link in the show notes or go to lockdownpackers.supercast.com. The Packers cannot rely on March on Lloyd. They just can't. And you draft Mike Washington Jr. for all of the same reasons you draft March on Lloyd. You want some juice. You want a slasher. You want someone that can rip off explosive runs to go along with Josh Jacobs who can be Mr. reliable for you, who can be a good catcher of the football out of the backfield can be, you know, his, his blocking has been an improved part of his game. He did not have a great first season as a past protector as good as he was as a runner that first year. The past protection lacked some consistency. They brought Chris Brooks back. So there you're going to have that guy. That makes you a little less worried about getting a running back touches early, probably going to be mostly a first and second down guy anyway. And so I just feel like someone like this is such a perfect compliment to Josh Jacobs who is also a bruising back, but Washington Jr. gives you the explosive play possibility. And if teams are going to play too high safeties against you, that gives you the chance to, if you just get one solid seal somewhere, now he's in the open field and you're going to give him a chance. Now again, he doesn't have that elusiveness in the open field. Like you see the best running backs when they get into the open field and it's them against the safety, you're going to give the advantage to those top running backs. You don't for Mike Washington Jr. But you give him the speed advantage every time because he is a low four threes guy. And so when he gets into the open field, he can just be gone. If you're going to play too high safeties against the Packers, all you have to do is get that one second level block. You get that initial, you get that initial push, you climb to the second level, you seal that linebacker, or at least you give your running back a chance to have a two way go against that linebacker. And he, and he has a chance to create an explosive play for you. And you just, this running game so sorely needs that, that when we talk about these running backs, those are the kinds of guys that the Packers desperately, desperately need. They need what March on Lloyd was supposed to give them and just hasn't. And then if March on Lloyd can be healthy, you can move on from Josh Jacobs any year anyway. And now you've got two guys who can do that. Plus Mike Washington can give you some of the between the tackles power, some of the physicality that you lose if Jake, if Jacobs moves on and you've got, when you move on from Josh Jacobs and you're left with Lloyd Brooks and Washington. That is a group that still makes sense. So from that standpoint, in a shallow running back room, I can see the Packers prioritizing a player like that simply because the fit and the skill set is so ideal for what they need in this offense. And so from that perspective, yes, I have a third round grade on him. But if the Packers, let's say the Packers trade back from 52 into the high fifties, low sixties, and then they take him, I'll understand, but it will be very much like AJ Dillon where I'm going, look, it's around too early and he's running back. The biggest difference to me though, and you know, the, the straight line explosiveness, the lack of wiggle, the lack of, of nuance at times in his running style, that is reminiscent of AJ Dillon. The biggest difference is that big playability, that home run hitting ability. He can make 20, 30, 50, 60, 70 yard runs. That's the difference. And you just, like that is such a valuable thing in today's NFL and teams are running it more. The Packers want to stay balanced. Well, if you want to stay balanced, you can't just have a good success rate on the ground. You have to be able to rip off explosive, valuable plays. Or when you have a quarterback like Jordan Love, you should just throw the ball more and the Packers should be doing that anyway, but investing in a back on day two, I don't think it's a bad allocation of resources. I really don't. If the right player is there, if they can get a really good, good player at 52, I have no problem with Mike Washington. My 84, it would be for the Packers, the ideal in terms of where you could get this guy. I just would be surprised if he's still there. And so if you don't take him in 52, you have to be okay with him being gone. I would be floored, floored. If they use the 52nd pick on my Washington, Jr. So if that's the cost, I'm out. And for this reason, I'm out. But if you could get him in the third round, it makes all the sense in the world. And there are other guys in this drafts. We'll talk about Nick Singleton from Penn State, who you could probably get round four, round five and give you some similar straight line athleticism. And that is to me where you would find better value in this draft. I think in the third round, you're still going to be, there's still going to be some really good corners you can take or really good defensive tackle you could take. And so I would not prioritize that, but I can understand the appeal for the Packers. And so that's something that I think we just have to be aware of when it comes to this team. They don't have a screaming need at running back, but we thought that in 2020 when they took AJ Dillon because they were planning for the future. If the Packers don't plan to have Josh Jacobs on their Austin year, they can't count on Marshall on Lloyd. Then they just have Chris Brooks. And if they're not sure if they want Josh Jacobs on the team in a year, then you have to think about that investment now. Now, if it were me, I would say, okay, I'm going to count Marshall on Lloyd a little. And then on day three, let me take a swing or two. Let me grab a late round guy, a Jaden Odd, a Nick Singleton. And then let me grab a UDFA and just let them compete and see if I can get something to pop here. Just because running backs, we can find them all shapes and sizes. They almost literally grow on trees in college. So I think they can find someone with a lower expenditure of capital, but the Packers have shown they've used a third round pick. They've used a second round pick. They've used big free agent money. They gave Aaron Jones an extension. They wanted to give him another extension. They value this position more than maybe they should, but they value this position. And so we have to, we have to work with what they give us. And that is that they care about this stuff. And so it would not be surprising to see them on day two, take a running back, given where this room's a long term outlook is right this minute. All right, back tomorrow with more, another Goody's guys for you. Follow me on the social medias, subscribe to the podcast, wherever you get podcasts, Spotify, Google, Apple music, Amazon, wherever you find podcasts, you will find locked on Packers. Subscribe on YouTube. We got two squad shows this week plus our live Friday show, the Friday OT. And if you're here regularly or even every day, join the every day air club. You get ad free episodes of locked on Packers. It's going to save you hours a year. Save yourself hours a year if you're here every day and you can get ad free at ad free shows like, come on, what are we talking about? 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