RB Cedric Benson, Green Bay Packers

HT: 6-0, WT: 225, Born: 12-28-1982, College: Texas, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 4

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: J Casey (227), Z Ertz (228), Cedric Benson (229), R Streater (230), C Michael (231)
Position: L Blount (221-RB73), R Jennings (224-RB74), Cedric Benson (229 - RB75), C Michael (231-RB76), D Robinson (233-RB77)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 6th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: B Quick (194), Cedric Benson (195), J Hunter (197)
Position: M Turner (182-RB65), J Bell (190-RB66), Cedric Benson (195 - RB67), D Brown (201-RB68), A Ellington (203-RB69)
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Benson had a 1st game in yellow and green to forget on Sunday. Like most teams who face the 49ers stout rushing defense, there was just not any room for Benson to do anything. After struggling on back to back drives, Mike McCarthy and the Packers all but abandoned the rushing game, choosing to instead line Cobb up in mostly shotgun formation. Benson will have his good days, more than likely when Green Bay is leading, but he is just not explosive enough to consistently be fed carries when the team is trailing.

Week 2 - Benson likes to get the ball six or seven yards deep and the Packers drew up several formations to give him his preference. On several plays, they lined up in a shotgun formation with Benson next to Rodgers as the lone back. However, before the snap, they would motion Tom Crabtree into a lead blocking formation, creating a sort of ‘Shotgun-I’, and Benson would take the handoff up the gut. Although his longest run was just an eleven yard run near the end of the third quarter, Benson showed solid effort and his north-and-south style running eventually began to wear Chicago down. 32 of Benson’s 81 yards came on his final seven carries, and he kept the chains moving and the clock running when the Packers needed to grind out the clock. His best series came at the end of the first quarter, where he had five consecutive touches to start the drive. After being stuffed for no gain, Benson lined up in the Shotgun next to Rodgers, but released up the middle after the snap. Rodgers pumped to Nelson on the sideline, then hit Benson over the middle for a big 17 yard catch and run. Rodgers checked down to Benson on the next play for another eight yards, and then Benson had two more carries up the gut for another 13 to end the quarter. While he didn’t get into the end zone, he finished the game with 24 touches for over 115 yards from scrimmage.

Week 3 - Cedric Benson posted a very modest stat line as expected against the Seahawks on Monday night but he was able to score a touchdown late in the game. Benson’s touchdown opportunity almost never happened save for Greg Jennings falling down 1 yard short of the touchdown on a previous play. Benson was given the short yardage carry up the middle of the defense and powered his way forward for the easy score. Benson was running with force and downhill throughout the game, pushing defenders back and finding the correct hole. He had limited space to work with once he got the carry but had moderate success pushing the pile up the middle of the Seahawk defense to give Greenbay a legitimate weapon on the ground. Benson almost had a fumble late in the game however, which at the time, would have cost them a turnover in their half. Benson did have 4 catches also but for minimal yards as Rodgers was forced to check down the ball a lot to his backfield. Seattle was tough to push back on the defensive line and Benson had defenders targeting him in the backfield quickly but he played hard and got the most of the situation he was put into.

Week 4 - Cedric Benson's stat line doesn't jump off the page at you - 18 rushes, 84 yards, 4 catches, 22 yards. However, it's clear he has something left in the tank. The Packers offensive line run blocking was up and down, and for the most part, Benson got what was blocked. However, on several occasions, he displayed the ability to move small piles and defenders. I was also relatively impressed by his first cut quickness, as most people assume he's a plodder in the Michael Turner or Shonn Greene vein. Rodgers also used Benson as a safety outlet on several targets, similar to last week. He now has 4 catches in 3 straight weeks, and is proving to be a nicer PPR asset than many people thought before the season started. Benson's YPC average was a solid 4.7, but his long run of the night was 9 yards, as he didn't have any truly huge holes to run through at any point throughout the night. Aaron Rodgers was the only other Packer with more than 1 rush, and it's clear this backfield belongs to Benson.

Week 5 - Benson was playing pretty well before he had his ankle rolled up on in the early second quarter. You could tell he was more comfortable this week, especially as he began to let his blockers line up, showing patience to let the play form. It didn’t happen immediately, as there were a few early runs—as with one at just under 11 minutes in the first quarter—where he missed a hole or lane and left yards on the field. He got into a rhythm near the end of the first on a drive that ended with a John Kuhn touchdown. The touchdown was only possible because Benson was so effective that when Rodgers faked it to him on the two yard line, everyone bit and Kuhn ran in for an easy score. The Packers were well on their way to really establishing the run before the injury. The ankle injury came when Benson caught a short pass from Rodgers and was tackled by linebacker Moise Fokou, who appeared to roll over Benson’s leg when they went to ground. While Alex Green came in and ran well, there was a period where the Packers stopped running for the most part, instead throwing the ball more frequently—which may have come back to bite them when the Colts had more than enough time to drive down the field in the late fourth quarter. Benson has already been ruled out for Week 6 with a foot injury, though X-rays were negative and it appears to be a sprain.