Mike McCarthy keeps a depth chart on his office wall. Next to each name is the player's picture and a tally of his playing time.
That's the statistic the Green Bay Packers coach values the most.
He probably doesn't know what to think when he looks at the running back group.
Last season, Jamaal Williams played the most snaps (441 or 42.1 percent of the offensive plays) and led the team with 556 yards rushing and four touchdowns, yet fellow rookie Aaron Jones (236 snaps, 22.5 percent) -- who got his first chance after Williams' knee injury in Week 4 -- was the most productive with a 5.5-yard average. He also matched Williams with four touchdowns despite a pair of knee injuries. Then there's Ty Montgomery, the converted receiver who won the starting job in training camp but succumbed to rib and wrist injuries after just 275 snaps (26.2 percent).
"Play time is really the reflection of availability," McCarthy said earlier this offseason. "None of our running backs this year were available for the whole season. So that's the first hurdle, the first challenge that they need to meet."
No wonder McCarthy has no interest in naming a starting running back.
"I just want them all to stay healthy and continue to grow," McCarthy said this week at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Florida. "Whoever starts, that's really up to them. That's the way I present it to the players. I'm for all of them starting. That's the competition you want."
One thing appears certain: New general manager Brian Gutekunst should not have to address the position this offseason. His predecessor, Ted Thompson, drafted three running backs last year: Williams in the fourth round, Jones in the fifth and Devante Mays in the seventh. (Mays played just 14 snaps as a rookie and carried only four times, fumbling on each of the first two.) Thompson did so after letting Eddie Lacy leave in free agency and cutting James Starks.
"Really like the backfield," McCarthy said. "They're young. The thing I like most about them, they're all in Year 2, the young guys.
"I thought Ty Montgomery did a heck of a job coming out of training camp and going into the season and gave us a real bell cow there. Then he went through his injury battles. Then, so was Jamaal ready? Was Aaron? Jamaal was ahead of Aaron, so we went with Jamaal, then he got hurt. Then Aaron went in there. That was a real challenge. I thought [running backs coach] Ben Sirmans did a heck of a job. I think the fact now that they'll have a whole offseason it will be one of our more competitive positions."
With the emergence of Jones and Williams, perhaps the Packers would be tempted to move Montgomery back to receiver full time. But McCarthy shot down that idea when asked about it earlier this month at the scouting combine and reiterated as much this week at the NFL meetings.
"Ty's a running back," McCarthy said. "He's a damn good one. He gives us a lot of ability to play schematically any way we want to play because of being able to displace. He's been there every day too, he's in there working out. Looks great. I know [strength and conditioning coordinator] Mark Lovat is excited about where he is. I think you'll see a bigger, stronger Ty Montgomery this year."