2015 Draft Class Provides Opportunity for Packers to Add Pass-Catching RB

The Green Bay Packers do not lack many elements on an offense that led the NFL in scoring a season ago. 

But if Super Bowl XLIX taught Green Bay anything, it's how a dynamic pass-catching running back can impact the game—even against one of the generation's most dominant defenses. 

Two weeks after the Packers failed to close out the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, New England Patriots quarterback and eventual Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady dissected the Seattle defense—using 11 completions to matchup-busting running back Shane Vereen as one of his primary incision tools. 

Vereen's 11 catches netted only 64 total yards. But the former second-round pick was still vital in New England scoring 28 points and dethroning the Seahawks as Super Bowl champions.  

The Packers currently possess an enviable one-two punch at running back in Eddie Lacy and James Starks. But the group could certainly use a player similar to Vereen, and the 2015 draft appears to have a number of capable candidates available for Green Bay to ponder. 

Among them are Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah, Miami's Duke Johnson and Northern Iowa's David Johnson. 

Taking a running back in the first three or four rounds would be a luxury for the Packers. Lacy is one of the league's finest young backs, and his improvements in the passing game (42 catches in 2014) have made him a legitimate three-down option for the Packers offense. In Green Bay, there's simply not many snaps left to go around at running back. 

But drafting a player like Vereen, who defenses can't simply cover down-after-down with a linebacker, might be a tempting addition as the Packers attempt to clear the roadblock Seattle has established in the NFC. 

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There's no doubting Vereen was a thorn in Seattle's side throughout the Super Bowl.

Of his 11 receptions, five were good for first downs. A sixth catch resulted in the chains moving via a tacked-on penalty. Seven of the 11 catches were delivered on first down. Two others came on third down and moved the sticks, including one during New England's first touchdown drive.

On the Patriots' go-ahead march in the fourth quarter, Vereen was targeted four times in the passing game.

The Patriots used the shifty, sure-handed Vereen as the counter to Seattle's zone-heavy defense. With holes underneath and matchups against linebackers favoring New England, the Patriots had the patience and execution necessary to dink-and-dunk down the field. 

The Packers failed to do the same two weeks earlier. 

Lacy did not catch a single one of his three targets. Starks did not haul in his only target. Fullback John Kuhn made one catch for three yards. The Seahawks did not fear any of Green Bay's receiving options out of the backfield, and for good reason. There was no one to fear. 

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Green Bay has attempted to fill the hole in recent seasons. 

After taking Lacy at No. 61 overall in 2013, the Packers double-dipped at the running back position, selecting UCLA's Johnathan Franklin at No. 125 in the fourth round. Franklin—standing 5'10" and weighing 205 pounds, identical measurements to Vereen—possessed a game screaming for a role as a situational pass-catcher and complement to Lacy. 

But his seemingly bright NFL career ended after just 11 games, thanks to a neck injury suffered on a kick return late in the 2013 season. 

The Packers have, on occasion, used receiver Randall Cobb in the backfield. When deployed as a running back, Cobb's usage has been very similar to that of Vereen in New England. And the package has been largely successful. But Cobb's best position remains in the slot, where he is arguably the game's most efficient and productive player. 

If there's a perfect answer for the Vereen role in the 2015 draft, it's probably Abdullah. 

According to his draft profile by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, the 195-pound Abdullah hasn't dropped a pass in two years. And he's dynamite with the football in his hands. 

"Abdullah has explosive potential as a runner and ball-catcher and is a natural zone-scheme fit," Zierlein wrote. 

Over his four years at Nebraska, Abdullah caught 73 passes for 690 yards and seven touchdowns. Vereen, while at the University of Cal from 2008-10, caught 74 for 674 yards and six touchdowns.

Just last month, Abdullah led all players at the Senior Bowl in all-purpose yards with 113, including 40 receiving. 

NFL Network's Mike Mayock called him the "the quintessential space player," per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. 

"Catches the football, real quick, make you miss," Mayock said. 

But to add Abdullah to the offense, the Packers would likely need to use the No. 62 pick—if the Nebraska product even lasts that long into the second round.

There will be alternatives. 

At 5'9" and 206 pounds, Miami's Duke Johnson is a C.J. Spiller-type with the kind of burst and receiving ability capable of immediately making an impact in the passing game. He caught 38 passes for 421 yards and three scores as a junior in 2014. His collegiate career ended with 69 receptions. 

"Good hands out of the backfield, with the ability to get downfield on wheel routes or split out wide in some formations," Rob Rang of CBS Sports wrote while comparing Johnson to LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Johnson could also come off the board in the second round. 

Later in the draft, Northern Iowa's David Johnson represents another tempting pass-catching option. He hauled in at least 30 passes during all four years in college, finishing with 141 catches, 1,734 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

He is described by Zierlein as a "smooth pass-catcher out of the backfield" and "a mismatch for linebackers," per his draft profile on NFL.com. 

The Packers are an offense with many mouths to feed. But Brady, Vereen and the Patriots helped show the kind of impact a pass-catching weapon out of the backfield can have during the Super Bowl, when New England used Vereen as an answer to Seattle's dominant down-after-down look. 

Green Bay's roster, as currently constructed, has no Vereen-like player. Franklin's injury was simply bad luck.

Adding a player like Abdullah would be a luxury pick for the Packers. No doubt. But a dynamic receiving back would certainly add a missing element to the Green Bay offense, one possibly capable of helping the Packers get over the Seattle hump and back to the Super Bowl.

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2