Tyler Goodson starts for the Green Bay Packers in their 2022 preseason opener

There is a massive myth about preseason football that it does not matter. Yeah, tell that to a player like Tyler Goodson.

While the game may not ultimately count towards the team’s wins loss record, and won’t affect whether or not someone makes it to the postseason, they actually matter a lot. For players trying to make it on an NFL roster, the preseason is some of the most important stages they’ll ever step onto in their life.

Tyler Goodson was a standout back for the Iowa Hawkeyes, racking up 2,551 yards and 18 rushing scores in his three seasons in Iowa City. As a junior he rushed for over 1,100 yards and reached the endzone six times despite some unusually shaky offensive line play. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough for the Suwanee, Georgia native to be drafted, but he was scooped up by the Green Bay Packers rather swiftly as an undrafted free agent.

While the two starters for the Packers are set in Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, Goodson is fighting for that third back slot. With second year back Kylin Hill currently injured, now is even more of a prime time to make an impact for Goodson. After a good start in training camp, Goodson received the starting duties in the Packers first preseason contest against the San Francisco 49ers. While the statline wasn’t anything to write home about in the end, Goodson impressed packers fans with his athleticism and receiving abilities, something that he wasn’t really able to showcase in black and gold.

With 7:48 left in the first quarter, Goodson dazzled with a 22-yard catch-and-run off of a screen pass from Jordan Love on second-and-six. Receiving the ball at the right hash-mark, Goodson followed his blockers and zoomed past strong safety Tarvarius Moore down the Packers sideline.

Goodson further showed his dexterity in the open field late in the first quarter. On a toss play to his left on second-and-three, Goodson cut up the field with great burst to follow the open hole. While he was met with a ferocious hit by safety Talanoa Hufange, a 2021 fifth-round pick out of future Big Ten rival USC, Goodson popped right back up. It’s small, but it’s good to see a running back of Goodson’s stature able to not fumble and get right back up after such a massive tackle.

There were some good things to takeaway from Goodson’s debut. His burst looks as good as ever, and he looks more than capable in the receiving game. He can do some dangerous things in the open field. None of this is a surprise to anyone who watched Hawkeyes football last year.

The competition for the third running back position will be fierce though. BJ Baylor, a fellow undrafted rookie and former Oregon State Beaver, actually led with Packers in receiving yards off the back of his big pitch-and-catch with Danny Etling. Baylor was a prolific rusher for the Beavers, racking up a Pac-12 leading 1,337 rushing yards. His 75 receiving yards against San Francisco Friday night actually match his total for Oregon State for all of last year.

Dexter Williams, in his second stint with the team that drafted him previously, ripped off a big 24-yard run as well. You also cannot forget about Hill, a former seventh-round pick, either. Goodson helped his case a bit in his first start for the Packers, but has to do more to earn his spot for Green Bay.

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Story originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire