Chris Brooks will take the field this week as the Green Bay Packers open OTAs and figure to be the club’s No. 2 running back behind starter Josh Jacobs.
The outlook matters because the Packers enter the spring after Jacobs’ usage cratered when a knee injury cost him carries: Jacobs had 67 fewer touches in 2025 than he did in 2024. During that absence, Emanuel Wilson stepped in and developed into a competent option for Green Bay before leaving in free agency for the Seahawks.
General manager Brian Gutekunst decided not to replace Wilson with an external veteran or a draft prospect, choosing instead to rely on returning players. That reliance makes Brooks’ role more consequential than it might look on a depth chart: he has 82 career rushing attempts and 24 receptions, 106 career touches in all, and a 4.8 yards-per-carry average.
By raw comparison, Brooks’ total workload remains modest. His 106 career touches are 34 fewer than Wilson had last season, and much of Brooks’ recent game action came in a single moment — 13 of his 27 carries came in Week 18. Those numbers sharpen the practical question facing the Packers as they reassemble: can a player with limited touches absorb the steady work that Jacobs’ injury forced the team to hand out last season?
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich framed Brooks’ candidacy in terms of versatility and temperament. "Chris runs hard. I like how he runs," Stenavich said. "He runs with a great mindset, and he’s ready." He added, "The one thing about him is he can wear all the different hats that you need to with playing running back."
Stenavich ticked off specific ways Brooks can contribute. "He can protect, he can run the ball," he said, and he praised Brooks’ fit in multi-back sets: "He does a really nice job when we play with two tailbacks in there – him blocking, him carrying the ball." Stenavich closed by underlining what the staff values: "So, yeah, he’s a pretty versatile player, which is cool, and I’m glad we have him back this year."
Brooks is not an unknown to the staff; he has played two seasons with the Packers after one season with the Dolphins, and the coaches have repeatedly pointed to his ability to handle different assignments. Still, the tape and the numbers leave an unresolved gap. The Packers lost Wilson to the Seahawks in free agency and elected not to plug the hole with an outside signing or a rookie addition, so the depth behind Jacobs looks unproven on paper.
That creates the story’s tension. Green Bay is heading into OTAs with a starting back who spent 2025 recovering touches because of a knee injury, a former midseason replacement who departed in free agency, and a No. 2 who has shown flashes but carries only 106 career touches and an uneven spread of carry opportunities. The calculus — whether the combination of Jacobs, Brooks and existing depth can hold up through a full NFL season — is left unsettled.
The single most consequential unanswered question as practices begin is simple: can Chris Brooks translate his efficiency, versatility and the coaching staff’s faith into the consistent, higher-volume work the Packers will need if Jacobs again misses time?
