Green Bay Packers like James Starks' potential as receiving back
By Pete Dougherty pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com April 24, 2010
The Green Bay Packers hadnt drafted a running back since 2007, and when they finally drafted another on Saturday, they used it on something
In Buffalos James Starks, they selected an unusually tall but well-rounded athlete to push Brandon Jackson for the job as backup to Ryan Grant even though Starks missed all of last season after having surgery on his shoulder in August 2009.
At 6-foot-2 1/8 and 218 pounds, Starks originally was recruited as a quarterback but ended up as Buffalos primary halfback from 2006 to 2008 before the shoulder injury sidelined him last season. The Packers took the chance on Starks in part because Turner Gill, who was the Packers director of player development in 2005, was his coach at Buffalo.
I always like the size. I like bigger backs, coach Mike McCarthy said. I felt we had very good information on Starks. I didnt see a whole lot of him, Im not going to sit here and tell you I broke down every film. But I know Edgar (Bennett, the Packers running backs coach) really liked him. Obviously the relationship with Turner Gill up there in Buffalo. We felt like we had a very good pick, particularly at that time in the draft.
Starks appealed to the Packers as a runner and in the passing game. He averaged 4.5 yards a carry and scored 34 touchdowns in his three seasons with Buffalo, including gaining 1,333 yards and averaging 4.9 yards a rush as junior in 2009.
He also caught 127 passes, and his best chance for getting on the field as a rookie is in the third-down type role that Jackson has held the past two seasons.
Very good size, good speed, has power, can make people miss, Bennett said. Hes a good receiver out of the backfield. His versatility, thats something that jumps out at you. You can also look at the fact that hes a very, very good athlete.
Starks, who played on a decorated Niagara Falls (N.Y) High School basketball team that included Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Jonny Flynn, practiced at quarterback when he went to Buffalo in 2005, then switched to cornerback in that redshirt season. But he moved to halfback in 06, where he was something of a natural despite looking lanky because of his height. The Packers see him as the kind of one-cut halfback thats best suited for their zone-run scheme.
I can catch out of the backfield, a north-south guy, Starks said. I have a lot of wiggle, though people dont usually see a lot because Im running downhill. I can catch, I have speed. Im tall, a lot of people mistake me of being sort of weak, but after playing in the game, you can tell theres more power than people expect. I think Im an all-around back.
Starks shoulder injury dated to last winter and spring, and he aggravated it in Buffalos spring game last season. Doctors told him he could rehabilitate through it, but in training camp Gill told him the injury was hindering his play too much, and doctors discovered he had a torn labrum. He had surgery in August and missed the season but couldnt get a medical redshirt because hed have needed to miss a second season because of injuries.
At the NFL combine, Starks ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds, which was fifth-fastest of the 27 running backs who ran there. He also had a 36-inch vertical jump and did only 15 bench-press reps at 225 pounds, which was a sign he hadnt regained full strength, though he said he was cleared to play if Buffalo had gone to a bowl game last season.