Cory's Corner: MarShawn Lloyd Will Turn Heads
Coming back from injuries, Lloyd will look to prove that he belongs in the NFL.
What are the expectations of RB2 for the Packers this season?
I know about this time last year, I was pretty giddy because I was happy about the Packers drafting MarShawn Lloyd in the third round. The scatback with jitterbug moves from USC was going to be the perfect complement to the powerful Josh Jacobs.
Then he suffered a hamstring pull in August and an ankle sprain in September. He missed seven games in 2024 and was only able to play in one game. He tallied 6 attempts for 15 yards and one catch for 3 yards.
But what are the expectations for Lloyd in 2025?
Can he be relied on to be the perfect change-of-pace back for Jacobs?
“Adversity is nothing new to me,” said Lloyd this past January. “Although I was not able to play this year, I appreciate the challenge. I will use this time to get my health back and get ready for next season. Watch me work.”
Jacobs was sixth in the NFL in rushing yards last year with 1,329 and now Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has another pitch to his offensive arsenal. He can use Lloyd in play-action and on sweeps and screens.
Lloyd gives the Packers another wrinkle on an offense that already averaged 27 points a game. They scored 460 points, which is the most points since Green Bay scored 509 in 2020.
I think Lloyd can be a nice surprise. The X-factor will be if the 5-foot-9, 220-pound back can pass protect. If he can block, he will continue to see more and more time on the field.
With Christian Watson out, defenses will be eyeing Josh Jacobs in the early portion of the season. They will be daring the Packers to find someone else to run the football besides Jacobs.
Enter Lloyd. The Packers can use Jacobs as a decoy and let Lloyd run wild on the weak side.
And then it gets even better. The moment defenses decide to put the clamps down on the Packers’ rushing attack is when Jordan Love can put the ball in the bucket and stretch the field.
The expectations are low for Lloyd this year. Coming off multiple injuries and seeing limited playing time, many think that he will not be a factor. And that’s exactly why I think Lloyd will turn heads. He hasn’t done much as a pro, but he wants to prove that he belongs in this league.
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.
__________________________
Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
__________________________
Comments (28)
Guam
May 17, 2025 at 07:34 am
The Packer offense should have substantially more juice this season with the drafting of Golden, Belton and Williams and the return from injury of Lloyd and Musgrave. That's adding a first rounder, two second rounders and two third rounders to the offense the Pack had last year. The only loss to the offense is Watson who should return sometime late in the season so the offense should have more depth and talent than it had a year ago.
Last year the offense couldn't keep up against the better opponents the Pack faced. Hopefully this injection of talent will allow LaFleur's offense to run with the big dogs in the big games.
Edit: Please let LaFleur figure out that both Jacobs and Lloyd have good hands and can catch passes out of the backfield. That was a seriously underutilized component of the offense last year and could really help QB1 when he is under pressure.
Coldworld
May 17, 2025 at 10:47 am
Jacobs had an 0 % consensus adjusted drop rate last year and averaged 11 yards after the catch for 342 yards and 1 TD on 43 targets.
However, he was not alone! Emmanuel Wilson also had a 0% percent adjusted drop rate last year on 11 catches (12 targets) for 48 yards and a TD per numerous analytics sources.
Chris brooks had a 7.7% on 11 targets for 69 yards (13 attempts).
Both Wilson and Brooks averaged over 9 yards after the catch. Put those stats together with Jacobs and the yards after catch says a lot about where they were typically when thrown to.
Even without Lloyd, these stats are baffling, and were visibly so at times during the year. Why on earth was LaFleur not (a) using his running backs more and (b) why nearly always at the line with nearly horizontal passes?
For an offensive genius that seems oddly moronic. Moreover, what were the Packers quality analysts saying? If this does not improve when Lloyd joins the fold then we are wasting a key dimension of his game on top of not using what we have last year with an O that often ran out of ideas as to how to sustain drives.
This is a big season for LaFleur to demonstrate he can really mine the potential on O effectively. Your point and the above data illustrate one aspect where he failed to do so last year. Coaches don’t win by leaving ground that fertile fallow.
Packerpasty
May 17, 2025 at 12:17 pm
im with you on MLF...the success of this season rests a large part on both him and Love showing growth...MLF wants to be the smartest guy in the room but he doesnt always show it...and Love has to gain some accuracy and decision making...no more "young" excuses this season...enough of that B.S....
LLCHESTY
May 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm
You could say the same about Kraft, whose ADOT was three yards less than the 8.1 ADOT Kittle had. They need to either reduce the number of deep throws Love throws or improve his accuracy on the deep throws. Explosive plays win games but you can get explosives by getting Kraft and Jacobs some targets with more depth and gaining YAC yards. Jacobs -1 ADOT is pretty crazy.
GilThorp
May 17, 2025 at 07:59 am
How about we wait and see if he can beat out Wilson and Brooks first.
fireball
May 17, 2025 at 08:12 am
Yeh, I was pleased, intrigued, too, when the Packers drafted Marshawn Lloyd ( " scatback with jitterbug moves " ).
Lloyd could be a great complement to Josh Jacob.
So far, of course, Lloyd has been a bust.
murf7777
May 17, 2025 at 09:04 am
Yep, I get it, one season on IR and you’re a bust, makes sense to me.
egbertsouse
May 17, 2025 at 09:36 am
He said, “So far,…..” He didn’t say he’s a total bust.
TKWorldWide
May 17, 2025 at 07:07 pm
Still premature and churlish.
dobber
May 17, 2025 at 08:16 am
Kinda like they did at OLB/DE, the Packers have settled into a "type" at the RB position--Lloyd, Brooks, Jacobs, Wilson--at about 5'10" and 220 lb. A year ago we were wondering how Jacobs (and the other backs) would work with an OL and a general scheme that tends to favor blocking on the move and cutbacks (Jones). We saw the result: they ran Jacobs hard, and he got a lot of his yards after contact. Jacobs was remarkably durable last year for the number of carries he had.
Now we're seeing a shift in OL to bigger more physical guys and we'll likely see more power in the run game to match these backs. More efficiency means more diversity on later downs and more sustained drives. If anything, these changes on the OL should make those power runs more effective. Wilson and Lloyd have enough juice to get outside. It seemed like they felt they couldn't threaten the edges in the run game last year unless they ran WR sweep action. Savion Williams is a wild card here because he can work out of the backfield and from the perimeter.
Packers are going to end up cutting a back who can play.
Coldworld
May 17, 2025 at 10:56 am
Jacobs and Wilson were both among the league leaders in yards after contact. That was doubly impressive as the Packers RBs were getting hit a full two yards per play behind where their Eagles counterparts were over the entire season. That is a staggering indictment of our OL run play and a staggering achievement by Jacobs and Wilson. Unfortunately, the former significantly reduced the impact of the latter. On a statistical level at least, disgracefully so.
murf7777
May 17, 2025 at 09:12 am
I’m with you Cory, I was excited last year when they drafted him for the reasons you suggested in this article. His jitterbug moves and quick acceleration with home run speed will be another element to this offense that is needed and I can’t wait to see. Needs to stay healthy and do a better job at ball control.
PackEyedOptimist
May 17, 2025 at 09:26 am
One of my dream "wrinkles" is to put Reed/Watson and Golden wide, and Williams, Lloyd, and Jacobs in the backfield, or maybe one of them in motion through the backfield at the snap.
That's five very explosive weapons for the defense to attempt to double-cover.
Lloyd may be the biggest wild-card going into this year.
13TimeChamps
May 17, 2025 at 10:31 am
"He missed seven games in 2024 and was only able to play in one game."
Huh?
Leatherhead
May 17, 2025 at 10:40 am
So Marshawn Lloyd will stay healthy this season and vault over Wilson, who did an excellent job for us last year?
I'm skeptical. Nothing against Lloyd, but this Jones/Wilson combo was pretty damn effective last yeare.
Coldworld
May 17, 2025 at 11:04 am
Wilson is Jacobs lite. We are unlikely to find a guy who can come on and run the Jacobs role in the O as effectively as he did without any change to the O. Lloyd brings something different.
I view Lloyd as a different type you bring in to expand the offensive possibilities. Wilson is a guy you rotate in to give Jacobs a break or if he gets dinged and maintain the O. That’s an ideal place to be in for LaFleur to make hay if he can actually use the pass this year and width and style variation Lloyd brings.
Brooks is a good protector but less good overall. We could probably get him to the PS if we want to.
LLCHESTY
May 17, 2025 at 01:11 pm
I'd like to see Lloyd get some snaps split out like Aaron Jones but there's a long line of players waiting to receive slot snaps and he'll be pretty far down that list.
I'm hoping they don't abandon the outside zone mated with play action that made a LaFleur a successful play caller and Lloyd is their best outside runner as long as he's healthy. If you watch his catches his last year at USC he also does a really good job of leaking out of the backfield and getting depth in scrambles. That contributed a lot to his 17 yards per catch average. Shows some receiver like hands on intermediate catches as well. If he's healthy he's a weapon that should get 5-10 touches a game and a lot more of someone is injured.
LLCHESTY
May 17, 2025 at 03:55 pm
Here's what Josh Jacobs had to say about Lloyd before he was sidelined with appendicitis:
"I make him ride with me on the way to practice every day," Jacobs said of his new running mate. He's going to be a good running back in this league. I'm excited to see him go this week...I mean, that speed you can't teach, man. The way that he goes in and out of his cuts, he's just electric. He's just electric, man."
You might not believe in Lloyd's value to the team but Jacobs does.
Alberta_Packer
May 17, 2025 at 11:05 am
My primary concern with Lloyd is his durability-availability. Due to his compact heavy build - it may be more difficult to keep him physically sound. E.g. his rookie year. That being so, I do not foresee him as a 3-down back. However as a situational running back and receiver - on a 8-10 touch limit per game - he could potentially bolster the offense.
Coldworld
May 17, 2025 at 11:12 am
Typically those builds are seen as ideal for RBs. His issues last summer, a hamstring and an appendectomy are not build related. Nor is his ankle that initially kept him out in season before lingering hamstring issues.
The Packers have sent him to the same place they sent Watson and Stokes last winter, apparently successfully. Hopefully that gets Lloyd right too. If they do, I see nothing in his history to suggest wider durability concerns.
To me, what Lloyd offers is speed and burst bringing a different threat between the tackles and a much enhanced one outside. I don’t think he is a guy we need to use heavily yo get them to optimal effectiveness, as Jacobs is (Wilson probably too). He’s not primarily here to pound and bulldoze. That may help his durability too.
Alberta_Packer
May 17, 2025 at 11:54 am
Interestingly - all of Lloyd's football injuries - ankle, knee, thigh and hamstring - have been on his right leg. Perhaps this is due to being his dominant leg and thereby subject to more torque than his non-dominant leg. Whatever - it appears that the Packers are aware of this imbalance.
Aside from returning to full physical health - perhaps Lloyd's next challenge is to find sufficient touches on Offense. There are many mouths to feed - especially with the addition of Golden and Williams. However more options should make the O more better.
jannesbjornson
May 17, 2025 at 12:05 pm
Lloyd has to prove he can hold onto the ball, especially in NFL traffic with his upright running style. No pass pro to hang his hat on; Brook's strong point.
He needs to get in gaps and blast without hesitation. Can LaFleur run a more diversified offense and keep DCs guessing?? He will be compared to Bucky Irving, who dominated as the multi-tool back and was named to the All-Rookie team.
GregC
May 17, 2025 at 12:24 pm
A 220-pound scatback? He does have good lateral movement, but I think Cory is underselling Lloyd by referring to him as a scatback. He can run with power when called upon.
LLCHESTY
May 17, 2025 at 04:04 pm
I caught that too, I don't think the definition of scatback has changed THAT much!
PeteK
May 17, 2025 at 12:37 pm
It will be a fun watch in the preseason with productive results in season with all these viable options.
Major Snafu
May 17, 2025 at 07:59 pm
Some of us may be ecstatic if he can make through pre season. Hey two injuries and he misses almost the whole season? Ya he won't be over weight and out of shape this spring.
I expect nothing and if that's what's he delivers at least I won't be disappointed.
LLCHESTY
May 17, 2025 at 09:29 pm
I think your brain might be Fubared!
Starrbrite
May 18, 2025 at 03:10 am
I’m very eager to see Lloyd. The brief glimpses of him last year turned my head. I believe he’s a dynamic back with moves and speed to burn.
He and Jacobs will make a formidable duo. Can’t wait!
Go Packers!!!