Emanuel Wilson

From a 7-game UDFA emergency call-up to 125-carry RB2 — Wilson's three-year climb is one of the quieter Packers stories.

Wilson went undrafted out of Fort Valley State in 2023 — a Division II school. He played 5 regular-season games as a rookie with just 14 carries, mostly as injury insurance behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon.

In 2024 he leveled up to 103 carries for 502 yards, then in 2025 the role grew again: 125 carries (a career high), 496 yards, 3 TDs. The volume keeps climbing — but the YPC dropped from 4.87 to 3.97 as defenses started honoring him.

Why it matters. UDFA backs from Division II schools rarely hold a roster spot, let alone graduate into a 125-carry role in year three. Wilson's path traces how Green Bay's RB room reshuffled — Aaron Jones traded, AJ Dillon out, Jacobs in — and how Wilson kept earning more snaps each time the depth chart cracked open.

28 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs vs Minnesota in Week 12 — Wilson's first career 100-yard game.

The Week 12 Minnesota line — 28 carries, 107 yards, 2 TDs — is the Wilson highlight reel. It was his first career 100-yard rushing game and the only time he's broken 25 carries in a single outing.

It's also the kind of workload that confirms a real RB2 role: when Josh Jacobs needed to come off the field, the Packers were comfortable handing the entire workload to Wilson and trusting him on goal-to-go.

Why it matters. For a depth back, a single 100-yard, 2-TD outing is the line that shifts how a coaching staff thinks about carry distribution. The 28-carry workload — bigger than any single-game Jacobs total in 2025 — signals the Packers trust Wilson as more than a change-of-pace back.

5.97 YPC running right, 2.71 up the middle — Wilson is one of the league's most direction-dependent backs.

Right-side runs are Wilson's weapon: 5.97 yards a pop on 99 career carries. That ranks 3rd among all NFL backs with 50+ right rushes since 2023, ahead of Jahmyr Gibbs and De'Von Achane.

Up the middle, the picture flips: 2.71 YPC on 73 carries. That's a 3+ yard gap between his best and worst directions — a sign defenders should crowd the A-gaps when Wilson is in.

Why it matters. A directional split this wide tells a coordinator exactly how to script Wilson's touches — and tells an opposing front exactly where to commit. Most backs cluster within a yard between their best and worst direction; Wilson's 3.26-YPC spread is in the rare 'design-around-it' zone.

Wilson + Jacobs — the only two Packers RBs to find the end zone in both 2024 AND 2025.

Take the Packers RB room across the last two seasons and shake out everyone who scored on the ground in both 2024 and 2025: you're left with Josh Jacobs and Emanuel Wilson. Chris Brooks scored once in 2024 and didn't appear in 2025; nobody else in the rotation reached the end zone.

Wilson's 7 career rushing TDs across 39 games as an undrafted free agent from Division II Fort Valley State is the kind of quiet production that earns roster spots year after year.

Why it matters. Backup RB roles churn fast — most teams cycle through three or four bodies behind the starter over two seasons. Wilson being the *only* non-Jacobs back to find the end zone in both years means he's not just a survivor of the depth chart, he's the second name the Packers trust at the goal line.

45 of Wilson's 106 rushes in 2024 came in the 4th quarter — a 42% Q4 share Jacobs himself doesn't match.

In 2024 Wilson took 45 of his 106 carries in the 4th quarter — a 42.5% Q4 share. Jacobs, the starter, ran only 19.6% of his carries in Q4.

Translation: when the Packers were closing out a game and didn't need their RB1, Wilson was the body absorbing the clock-killer touches. That's a real role — not a bench seat — and it's part of why he survived to 2025 with a bigger workload.

Why it matters. A 42% Q4 share, more than double the starter's, is the signature of a designated closer — the back you bring in once the game is in hand to bleed the clock and protect Jacobs from extra contact. It's why Wilson's per-touch numbers can look modest while his job security stays solid.

Wilson took 22 more carries in 2025 than 2024 — and netted 6 fewer rushing yards.

Wilson's 2024 line: 103 carries, 502 yards. His 2025 line: 125 carries, 496 yards — six fewer yards on 22 more carries. The role got bigger; the output flatlined.

Even Wilson's 28-carry, 107-yard outburst against Minnesota in Week 12 — his career best — wasn't enough to lift the season totals. Pull that game out and the rest of his 2025 reg-season line is 97 carries for 389 yards (4.01 YPC) — still well below 2024's 4.87 mark.

It's the kind of detail that explains how 'volume up, yards flat' can happen when defenses start treating a depth back as a real threat.

Why it matters. Year-over-year YPC drops on a growing workload usually signal one of two things — defenses honoring the back, or the back hitting heavier defensive looks behind a starter. For Wilson, both are true: defenses now scheme for him, and his Week 12 explosion couldn't single-handedly lift a season otherwise spent grinding out tougher carries.