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Green Bay Packers’ 28 Touchdown Rookie Has Path to Making an Impact

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By Matt Lombardo | Last updated May 27, 2025 11:51 AM ET

The Green Bay Packers double-dipped on adding playmaking wide receivers to boost ascending quarteraback Jordan Love during the NFL Draft, and attempted to fortify the defensive line during the later rounds, but it is one of the franchise’s undrafted rookies who could offer major upside.

With former rushing champion Josh Jacobs already in tow, and fresh off a 1,329-yard and career-high 15 touchdown season, clearly Green Bay did not view running back as a position it needed to invest draft capital into.

However, one of the Packers’ undrafted running backs could have a path to the roster and to carving out a niche in the backfield.

Green Bay Packers’ Amar Johnson Named Undrafted Rookie to Watch

Undrafted rookie free agent running back Amar Johnson lands in Green Bay off a prolific and explosive collegiate career, rushing for 3,196 rushing yards on 537 carries (6.0 avg.) with 28 touchdowns and 518 receiving yards on 57 receptions (9.1 avg.) with two TDs.

While it’s easy to dismiss some of that eye-popping production to the caliber of competition Johnson faced at South Dakota State, Bleacher Report NFL analyst Brent Sobleksi lists Johnson as one of the most underrated undrafted rookies in the league.

“While passing on Johnson during the draft,” Sobleski writes of Johnson, for B/R. “Only to immediately sign him afterward as an undrafted free agent may come across as counterintuitive, it’s actually a good job by the Packers scouting staff to assess the running back’s value.

“Johnson left South Dakota State as a two-time national champion. Over the last two seasons, he ran for 2,023 yards and 18 touchdowns. While not the most explosive back, he has good vision and patience with the ability to contribute on passing downs and kick returns.”

Just because the Packers didn’t sign Johnson doesn’t mean that he should automatically be written off, especially because some agents might actually prefer their client signing as an undrafted free agent rather than being chosen in the seventh-round.

“There are really two big advantages,” one veteran agent told me, recently. “You get to choose the best spot, and UDFAs get a three-year deal instead of a four-year contract.

“Some teams guarantee more base salary to undrafted free agents than they do to seventh-rounders. Sometimes, it’s a lot more. It’s a weird quirk in the system.”

Johnson could be built to benefit from the system’s quirk, especially given that former third-round pick Marshawn Lloyd and two-year veteran Emmanuel Wilson are the 5-foot-10 and 205-pound back’s only competition to making the roster and climbing the depth chart behind Jacobs.

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This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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