The Packers have plenty of familiar names to lean on, but the real swing factor might be the one almost nobody is talking about. If Green Bay is going to hit the level it wants, it will need Jordan Love, Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, and, when healthy, Micah Parsons to show up.
It will also need someone from outside the obvious circle to pop. That’s where MarShawn Lloyd comes in.
Lloyd’s summer has been built on something simple but meaningful: cautious optimism. Injuries have limited him to just one game across two seasons, so every healthy step matters.
He has managed to stay on the field during the offseason program, and that gives him a chance to finally put the injury-prone label behind him. The upside has never been the question.
Because Lloyd has been out of sight, he’s also been out of mind. Packers fans know the name.
The rest of the league has largely moved on. That’s what makes him such an intriguing wild card if he can stay healthy this season.
The 2024 third-round pick could give Green Bay’s offense a burst it hasn’t really had since Aaron Jones left two years ago.
The traits are obvious. Lloyd has real juice, the kind that turns a modest gain into a sudden chunk play.
He can also work as a receiver, which is a big part of what makes him dangerous. That combination is exactly why the Packers were willing to bet on him, and why NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah called him the "best running back in the draft" after Green Bay took him in the third round.
The problem has been availability, not ability. Lloyd has dealt with hamstring, calf, groin, and ankle injuries, and just when he seemed close to getting back in his rookie season, abdominal pain led to emergency surgery for appendicitis. It’s been a brutal stretch, but he has kept a positive approach and worked with specialists to get to the bottom of the soft-tissue issues that kept knocking him off track.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman, Lloyd worked this offseason with Dr. John Meyer, who is the Chairman of Performance, Health and Wellness for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The goal has been to identify the source of the recurring injuries while also building up his body to avoid more setbacks. Based on how the offseason program has gone, the progress looks real.
Packers running back coach Ben Sirmans put it plainly: "He can do things that the other guys can't," Packers running back coach Ben Sirmans said, via Schneidman.
That talent has shown up whenever Lloyd has actually been on the field. His 33-yard catch on a wheel route in a preseason game last summer was the kind of play that makes you stop and take notice. It also ended in frustration, because he suffered a hamstring injury on that exact play and missed the rest of the year.
Lloyd’s one season at USC in 2023 hinted at what he can be. He finished with 1,052 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 7.1 yards per carry and 17.8 yards per catch. Those are the kinds of numbers that jump off the page, but the bigger point is what they say about his style: speed, explosiveness, and receiving ability that separate him from the rest of the Packers’ backfield.
That matters even more with Josh Jacobs bringing tackle-breaking power and Emanuel Wilson no longer in the building. Lloyd gives Green Bay a different kind of weapon, one the offense has been missing.
For Lloyd, the talent has always been there. The question was whether his body would finally cooperate. If this offseason is any indication, the Packers may have a breakout waiting in plain sight.
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Chris Brooks is viewed as the third-down option, while MarShawn Lloyd is next in line if Green Bay has to reach deeper into the depth chart. That is where the concern starts to sharpen for 2026, because the Packers are one injury, one setback, or one stretch of missed time away from asking a lot more of their backups than the roster may be built to handle. [Read more 🡒]