The more and more I look at where I think players will be drafted, and speculate on which players Ted will favor, the more likely it appears that Ted could take a running back at the end of round two.
Ted has shown a preference for bigger backs that can catch the ball, the only real exception to that would be Franklin from a couple years back. Looking at the overall combination of size, athletic ability and production (running and catching), I think Boise State's Jay Ajayi and Northern Iowa's David Johnson will probably rank high on Ted's board. In 2013 and 2014 Ajayi had 3200+ rushing yards and 72 receptions while Johnson rushed for 2800+ yards and had 76 receptions. Both are 220 pounders that had excellent overall combine workouts. Only real knock on Ajayi is that he doesn't have true breakaway speed and Johnson is a bit of a fumbler, 13 fumbles but had over 1000 touches in college so 13 is not a ridiculous number.
If you buy the "always takes the best player available" theory, I think there is a good chance that Ajayi and/or Johnson might be the only players left in Thompson's top remaining tier at the end of round two. When looking at the other team needs, all good NG's will probably be off the board, all the good ILB's could be off the board, and then Thompson would have these backs stacked against corners like Alex Carter and Eric Rowe and, quite frankly, a bunch of mediocre tight ends. If that's the way it shakes out, then why not a running back?
When looking at the roster, the Packers only have two running backs that are "likely to make the 53-man roster" when the season opens. And one of those players is James Starks, who is on the last year of his deal and will turn 30 before the 2016 season begins. Is Ted likely to give Starks another contract at his age? Maybe but probably not. Lacy is there, but Ted might still see running back as a bigger need area then most of us fans.
