GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Packers started the practice week with one available spot on the practice squad. That spot has been filled with running back Damon Bankston.
If the name rings a bell, it's because he took a predraft visit to Green Bay .
Bankston went undrafted and spent the preseason with the Giants, getting a $15,000 signing bonus and $115,000 of guaranteed salary.
"I had brought it down to three teams which was the Giants, the Packers and the Raiders," Bankston told KRQE . "Out of those three, I just thought the Giants were the best fit for me to make an impact right away. This type of opportunity I've been waiting for pretty much my whole life and right now I'm just focused on taking advantage of it."
Bankston worked out for the team on Tuesday. More on that in a moment.
In three preseason games, he carried the ball 21 times for 73 yards (3.5 average), highlighted by 11 carries for 62 yards against the Jets in the final game. He caught two passes for 2 yards and returned one kickoff for 29 yards.
Bankston spent his first four seasons at Weber State. For his final season, he moved up from FCS to FBS by signing with New Mexico. He was productive and versatile with 635 rushing yards (5.6 average) and five touchdowns, 31 receptions for 397 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 36.2 yards per kickoff return with two touchdowns.
That's 10 touchdowns.
"A lot of people make teams in the NFL on special teams," he said at pro day . "Just having the opportunity to showcase that I could return kicks - you know, every team needs a good returner. Being able to show that and also show that I can play punt return ... it's huge for getting to the next level."
Of the 52 running backs in the draft class who had at least Bankston's number of carries (113), he ranked 19th with 3.49 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. As a receiver, he dropped only one pass.
The numbers weren't padded by game against lesser competition. While Michigan held him to 18 rushing yards, he carried the ball 15 times for 154 yards against UCLA, had kickoff-return touchdowns against Boise State and Minnesota , and added five catches for 122 yards against UNLV.
He was the only running back in the nation with a 100-yard rushing game, 100-yard receiving game and touchdowns in three phases.
The final game of his career was the Rate Bowl against Minnesota. He carried 10 times for 57 yards, caught five passes for 23 yards and raced 100 yards for a kickoff-return touchdown.
"I think what makes me so different is I can run between the tackles and be split out wide and still have an impact," he said at pro day.
He's a bit on the small side by Green Bay 's historic preferences at 5-foot-10 3/8 and 196 pounds. With a 4.43 in the 40, his Relative Athletic Score was 8.15 . He's got 9 1/2-inch hands.
"I feel like I showed my quickness," he said at pro day. "I showed my agility in the running back drills, showed that I can catch out of the receiver position out of the slot. So, I just showed some versatility today and that I can just do multiple things on the football field.
"From the scouts that I have talked to, all of the conversation was good. All of them liked my versatility, and that's the most dynamic thing I bring to the team. God willing, I get to the next level, but it's good to come out here and finally have the day done, and we will see what happens."
Bankston will add some depth in the backfield, with Josh Jacobs on the exempt list. Along with MarShawn Lloyd , Chris Brooks and Kaleb Johnson on the 53-man roster, Pierre Strong is on the practice squad.
The Packers acquired Johnson from the Steelers during the final cuts last week.
"It's great," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. "He's a big, physical guy. He looks great. We've gotten him a bunch of carries the last few days in practice so I'm excited to see him get out there and show us what he can do, but he's looked good. Obviously, there's going to be a learning curve, so hopefully as the season rolls through, he'll just have more opportunities."
Lloyd is listed atop the depth chart and figures to start against the Vikings on Sunday.
"It's going to be running back by committee for a little while just to see where everyone's at," Stenavich said. "So I'm not going to say like X amount of touches or anything like that, but we definitely want to get him the ball. He does have explosive ability and playmaking ability."
Along with Bankston, other players who worked out were running backs Phil Mafah (Clemson) and Ian Wheeler (Howard), tight end Cody Hardy (North Carolina State), defensive backs Ambry Thomas (Michigan) and Sanoussi Kane (Purdue), and quarterback Jack Plummer (Louisville).
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/packers/onsi as Given Second Chance, Packers Complete Practice Squad With Running Back .
