Former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy runs a shuttle drill during Alabama&#8217;s second pro day for NFL scouts, Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Tuscaloosa,
Former Alabama running back Eddie Lacy runs a shuttle drill during Alabama's second pro day for NFL scouts, Thursday, April 11, 2013, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/, Vasha Hunt)

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In his low, raspy tone, Eddie Lacy says he weighs 238 pounds.

At Alabama, the running back stayed in the 225-230 range. So, yes, through this first round of practices with the Green Bay Packers, Lacy is considerably bigger.

"A little bit," Lacy said with a laugh.

The Packers probably would prefer a little less Cajun cooking in Louisiana when practice is adjourned this month. Lacy joked that he'll need to watch his appetite. Still, this mass, this size is appealing to the Packers. They have large running backs. They have small ones. Green Bay's backfield this summer will be a carousel of different shapes, sizes and styles.

And along the way, the Packers hope they uncover a running game.

It all starts with variety.

"You don't get the cookie-cutter guy who's the same size," running backs coach Alex Van Pelt said. "We obviously have a lot of different sizes and body structures, body types."

There's the second-round pick Lacy, the heavyweight of the bunch. There's the fourth-rounder Johnathan Franklin, a slippery 205 pounds. DuJuan Harris is the mutation, a 5-foot-7 car salesman who can bench 225 pounds 27 times. James Starks is 6-2. And listed at 6-0, 220 pounds, Alex Green offers one-cut quickness.

By September, five are likely whittled to three. The Packers' challenge is to figure out which backs -- which sizes of backs -- blend best with Aaron Rodgers and the offense. In Green Bay's ideal scenario, its rushing attack resembles a blizzard of jabs, hooks and haymakers.

"You get Eddie out there in the open field and he has the ability to run through you and break a tackle," Van Pelt said. "Johnathan has a chance to run around you and make you miss. James is the same way -- a big, physical guy who can run through you, break tackles. Alex can make you miss and break tackles, too. If you're a defensive back or a linebacker, you have a bunch of different style runners coming at you."

Lacy, easily, is the most fascinating study. At 5-foot-11, 238 pounds, he'd be one of the heaviest starting running backs in the league. Power is, indeed, part of his game. But so is quickness in tight quarters. So is his signature spin move.

It remains to be seen if Lacy, aka "Circle Button," can pull 360s on NFL linebackers.

When asked if playing at 238 pounds would be a detriment, Van Pelt said that "whatever the weight staff and (head coach Mike McCarthy) think his weight should be, that's what we'll get him to." Through these pad-less practices, he doesn't believe the extra weight has dulled Lacy's game. The coach cited one individual drill on Tuesday in which Lacy "showed his ability at that weight to have great feet and speed."

Either way, the light-footed, plus-sized running back is rare.

"Steven Jackson's got that ability," Van Pelt said. "He has good feet and can make guys miss. He's quick through the hole. He's a guy who's probably taller than Eddie but the same weight. Yeah, there aren't many who are big like that and nimble."

The Packers wouldn't mind if Lacy, Harris or anyone else took a stranglehold of the No. 1 job. McCarthy has stated that he'd prefer to lean on one back who gets into a rhythm. But the Franklin pick alone -- less than 24 hours after Green Bay took Lacy -- also suggests the Packers value contrasting styles.

Each physique offers pros and cons.

Seven inches taller than Harris, Starks is susceptible to injuries. Hamstring, ankle, toe and knee injuries have stunted his career. Yet Van Pelt said height aids Starks' vision. He sees plays develop as "more of an Eric Dickerson-style, a more upright runner" who "has the strength and power to get through tackles."

Harris? Van Pelt calls him a combination of Franklin and Lacy, a player who "has power and extreme quicks." And with Green, the coach believes that one year removed from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the explosion is resurfacing.

"One guy might try to run you over," said Green, who rushed for 464 yards on 135 carries (3.4 avg.) last year. "One guy might try to make you miss. One guy might do a little bit of both. It's always good to keep the defense on their toes. It's not the same thing over and over and over."

Calling Lacy "a big dude ... a little bowling ball," left guard Josh Sitton agrees.

"There's a lot of different ways that we can hit you," Sitton said. "We have quickness, we have power, we have speed, so there are a lot of different weapons there. We won't really know what these young kids are about until we get to the preseason, but right now they look pretty good."

So far, it's been Starks and Green working with the first-team offense. After having a cyst removed from his lung this week, 2012's last back standing (Harris) must wait. If Lacy leapfrogs the competition, it'll come on game day. Quick-whistle practices don't quite accentuate the talents of big backs.

He's not sure what weight he'll play at in the pros. While the rising number may raise a red flag to outsiders whose last memory of Lacy is the running back huffing and puffing through a pre-draft workout, he says there's no need to worry.

"I'm right where I want to be," Lacy said. "That stuff before the draft doesn't matter anymore. That was back then. This is a new time. I'm ready to show what I can do."

And unlike years past, Green Bay may wield one, two, three options in the run game.

Said Lacy, "It throws a lot of curveballs out there."