A third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has failed to establish himself through the first two seasons of his career. Thanks to myriad injury issues, Lloyd has appeared in just one NFL game and collected just six carries so far as a pro. Still, the 25-year-old enters 2026 with a clear opportunity to carve out a role in the Packers' backfield. Green Bay lost former RB2 Emanuel Wilson in free agency, and RB1 Josh Jacobs is currently battling some off-field issues that could lead to a league-mandated suspension at some point during the upcoming season. Even if Jacobs avoids discipline from the league, he's entering his age-28 season and has already racked up over 2,100 touches in his NFL career. If Lloyd can beat out similarly unproven Packers backs Chris Brooks and Pierre Strong Jr. for the team's RB2 role, he could be one of the better handcuff running back options in fantasy football. At his current redraft ADP of RB62, Lloyd may be undervalued heading into 2026
Chris Brooks won’t lead the team in rushing and probably won’t generate many headlines this summer. But there is an argument that no backup on the Green Bay Packers ’ offense carries more importance in 2026. The truth is, there’s uncertainty surrounding the running back room. While MarShawn Lloyd remains an intriguing athlete and someone I’ve been pulling for, injuries have plagued his young career. He’s got loads of ability, but as football wisdom goes, the best ability is availability — and Lloyd sure has lacked in that department. Meanwhile, even as he continues participating in team activities and denies the allegations against him, Josh Jacobs ’ offseason legal situation has created additional uncertainty. Like it or not, he’s the presumptive starter until circumstances change — but change they might. That’s why Chris Brooks matters. He may never be the star of Green Bay ’s backfield, but if the Packers are forced to lean on their depth at any point this season, Brooks could become a sneaky important insurance policy for the Packers’ roster. He’s proven himself smart, reliable, and available. Those are the key points Bill Huber makes in a recent piece discussing the running back. The Packers quietly demonstrated how much they value Brooks when they signed him to a two-year contract extension this spring. The deal itself wasn’t huge, but it signaled confidence in a player many fans don’t give a second thought. Brooks has carved out a role as a reliable pass protector, special teams contributor, and situational runner. Glamorous? No. Important nonetheless? Yep. Packers RB Chris Brooks: offense might depend on Brooks in 2026 – Running back Chris Brooks could go from the team’s No. 3 running back to the horse of the backfield. That is why he figures prominently in our Packers player rankings. Packers sign son of ‘hog’ to potentially fill key role – The Green Bay Packers, finally, have signed tight end Luke Lachey , the son of an All-Pro lineman. What Tyrod Taylor brings to Packers as Jordan Love’s backup – Tyrod Taylor probably never imagined that he’d play this long in the NFL. What does he bring to the Packers QB room? THREAD: Should the Packers kick the tires on QB Sorsby? – Could the Packers be in the mix for the former Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech quarterback?
Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd has largely been a disappointment since being taken in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Thanks to myriad injury issues, Lloyd has appeared in just one game and logged six career carries over his first two professional seasons. However, the 25-year-old enters 2026 with a legitimate chance to carve out a significant role in the Packers' backfield. Former Packers RB2 Emanuel Wilson departed the team in free agency, leaving Lloyd in a battle for the RB2 role with similarly unproven Green Bay running back Chris Brooks. Additionally, star Packers running back Josh Jacobs ran into some legal issues this offseason, which could result in him facing discipline from the league. Lloyd appears to be fully healthy entering the summer. With a strong showing at training camp and the preseason, he could emerge as a key piece in Green Bay. Dynasty managers should be looking to buy low on Lloyd in leagues where his value has not already skyrocketed
Josh Jacobs returned to Green Bay Packers OTAs on Tuesday, participating in team drills alongside MarShawn Lloyd and Damien Martinez. This comes as the team continues voluntary practices amidst an ongoing investigation into Jacobs. Head coach Matt LaFleur indicated it's "business as usual" on the field for Jacobs. The team also saw other players returning and rookies getting involved in different positions
On Wednesday, the Green Bay Packers had their first media-open organized team activities of the 2026 offseason . Unfortunately, their running back room was a little thin, as Josh Jacobs was just being released from jail that day and both MarShawn Lloyd and Damien Martinez were unavailable to use during team drills due to injury. This left just the following players to play running back for the Packers: blocking back Chris Brooks , 2025 practice squadder Pierre Strong Jr. and 2026 undrafted free agent rookie Jaden Nixon. So, with Green Bay ’s thin running back room (and the looming cloud around Jacobs) in mind, I wanted to take a look at what’s going on with the United Football League, whose players will start becoming available to sign next month. To my surprise, of the eight UFL teams, three teams’ leaders in rushing are former Packers. The league-leader in rushing right now is Jarveon Howard , who has taken 100 carries (2nd most in UFL) for 430 yards, but somehow is the only back among the top 16 in yards who hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown. Howard, who played at Syracuse and Alcorn State , got his start in the NFL with the Packers in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He was waived with an injury designation during training camp of his rookie year, but caught wind with the St. Louis Battlehawks during the 2025 season. He signed with the Buffalo Bills following his first stint with the UFL, but was waived with an injury designation after just one day in Buffalo. After that, he returned to St. Louis, where he plays today. James Robinson is sixth in the league with 83 carries for 300 yards and three rushing touchdowns. Robinson was a member of the Packers in 2023, where he played in one regular-season game and recorded one carry for two yards. Prior to his time in Green Bay, Robinson had made 32 starts with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets . After going two years without an NFL regular-season carry, Robinson signed with the Louisville Kings, an expansion team, where he now leads the team in rushing. The final former Packer to lead their team in rushing is Ellis Merriweather , who spent two years as a practice squadder in Green Bay. Merriweather played junior college football before transferring to UMass. After his college career, he got his first crack with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. Merriweather initially made the Saints’ practice squad in 2023, but was released shortly after. Later that year, the Packers signed him to their practice squad, re-signed him for the 2024 season and then had him on the practice squad for that year, too. He wasn’t brought back in 2025, as he finished the 2024 season on the Packers’ practice squad injured reserve. After spending the 2025 season out of the NFL, he resurfaced with the Dallas Renegades, where he’s posted 83 carreis for 268 yards and four touchdowns. — You might want to keep an eye on the final week of UFL regular-season action before the playoffs start. Considering the Packers’ running back depth and the team’s ties to some of the top rushers in the league, I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a reunion in the future
One way or another, the Green Bay Packers need to get something substantial from MarShawn Lloyd in 2026. The former third-round draft pick with one NFL game to his name may well be in line to start at running back for the Packers this season, but even he was not the team’s first running back with the starters during the first OTA practice of the year. Lloyd projects as the Packers’ most explosive runner and is arguably the most talented option behind Josh Jacobs — he of the uncertain legal situation — but we haven’t been able to see that in real game action to this point. Given Lloyd’s injury history and a lack of proven depth behind him (Chris Brooks is still clearly best cast as a change-of-pace and third down back), the Packers will surely look to make an addition at some point this summer. Still, OTAs brought some good news with them, particularly in the form of reps with the starters for a couple of rookies. The team’s top two draft picks got some run with the ones this week, a good sign that the team plans on bringing them along quickly in the hopes that they can contribute in their first season. Keep a closer eye on those two players as OTAs continue on throughout the next few weeks. Packers OTAs practice report: 2 rookies get early first-team reps | Packers Wire Both Brandon Cisse and Chris McClellan took some reps with the starters in the first open practice of the year, though neither one started the day there. Packers must start preparing alternate running back plan now | Packersnews.com Brian Gutekunst should be on the phones trying to bolster that position. Packers need MarShawn Lloyd to stay healthy and ‘prove it’ | ESPN And here’s the corollary to the above: Lloyd might well be a critical piece to the Packers’ puzzle on offense this year. Packers Land Surprising Spot in SI’s Coach-Quarterback Rankings | SI.com Still, the Packers rank in the NFL’s top five in terms of the combined strength of their head coach and quarterback. And that feels about right. Kraft Dinner debuts limited-edition Mac & Cheesecake Dessert at Canada bakeries | Foodbev.com No, Kraft, not like this
MarShawn Lloyd missed team drills Wednesday due to an undisclosed issue, with Chris Brooks taking first-team reps. Lloyd's injury history is a concern, and his status for the upcoming season remains uncertain
Packers RB Chris Brooks took first-team reps to begin 11-on-11 drills at OTAs on Wednesday. Brooks got the opportunity with MarShawn Lloyd sitting out team drills. Brooks signed a two-year deal with Green Bay earlier in the offseason. Pierre Strong saw reps behind Brooks on Wednesday as Josh Jacobs remains away from the team
The Green Bay Packers’ summer roster is mostly set, as the team has just one open roster spot available at the time of this article. I took the time to go position-by-position through the Packers’ roster and pin down what the biggest question I have for each position group going into camp, the things I’ll be keeping an eye on when real practices begin. As a reminder, OTAs start next week (voluntary workouts started pre-draft, and there haven’t been any reported holdouts) and minicamp will kick off on June 9th. Jordan Love is locked into the starting job for the foreseeable future, so the quarterback drama in Green Bay is going to have to come at the backup position. Tyrod Taylor , a 36-year-old with 62 NFL starts under his belt, is certainly more veteran than Kyle McCord , a 2025 draft pick who spent last season on the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad. With that being said, though, Taylor only received $700,000 in guarantees in his contract , less than kicker Brandon McManus — who was released from Green Bay post-draft — made from the Packers this offseason. Taylor’s contract doesn’t really lock him into a roster spot, even if he has an inside track for the job. The Green Bay Packers chose to bring back blocking back Chris Brooks over ball-carrier Emanuel Wilson this offseason, which will give MarShawn Lloyd the opportunity to be the number two ball-carrier in Green Bay behind Josh Jacobs in 2026. Here’s the problem: The 2024 third-round pick has only played in one game over two seasons due to a brutal stretch of injuries. Obviously, with that track record, the question is whether Lloyd can stay on the field or not. If he can’t, it opens the door for a roster spot for Pierre Strong Jr., Damien Martinez or undrafted rookie Jaden Nixon. With Jayden Reed under contract for years to come and the Christian Watson extension likely coming, the Packers’ receiver room will revolve around the trio of Watson, Reed and 2024 first-round pick Matthew Golden moving forward. Here’s the thing, though: We haven’t really seen them play together. Last season, in part because of injuries to both Watson and Reed, these receivers were only on the field together for all of 14 snaps, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. Here’s the good news: On those 14 plays, the Packers averaged 11.4 yards per play. They were mostly on the field together for obvious pass situations, as the team threw 12 times out of those 14 snaps. Reed, famously, has been a slot-only receiver for the Packers. Still, Green Bay likes to move Watson inside in obvious passing situations, too, to get better matchups. On top of that, Golden didn’t play a ton of true outside receiver snaps last year, as he was often motioned from inside out or outside in, rarely stagnant whenever he wasn’t playing a true slot role — which he did frequently when Reed was injured. What does a Watson, Reed and Golden offense look like? We have no idea. We have about a quarter of a game of plays to go off of from 2025. Tucker Kraft should be back on the field by the start of training camp, and he’s not a liability blocker, so that helps Green Bay in the in-line tight end department. With that being said, neither Luke Musgrave nor Josh Whyle , the other returning tight ends from the Packers’ 53-man roster, is a plus blocker. Musgrave has been used in-line for most of his Green Bay career, with below-average results as a blocker, while Whyle has been used as more of a “move” tight end in obvious passing situations. After the draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted the team wanted to hit the in-line tight end market, but that value didn’t present itself (not surprising considering the crazy run at the position on Day 2). Still, Green Bay, with its run-first offense, will need a better answer than Musgrave or Whyle as in-line blockers if Kraft ever does go down. Look for the team to continue to bring in bodies throughout the summer. With Sean Rhyan receiving a new contract and Aaron Banks
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Data comes from cached Sleeper and KTC snapshots. Values update when the sync jobs run.
