The Green Bay Packers will have to reevaluate their running back room after a hamstring injury forced rookie MarShawn Lloyd out of the preseason opener.
Lloyd saw limited action against the Cleveland Browns. His lone carry came in the second half, where he showed off his elusiveness for a creative eight-yard gain.
Unfortunately, Lloyd immediately called to be taken out of the game following his one carry. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted to X shortly after that Lloyd had suffered a hamstring injury.
Lloyd revealed to reporters after the game that he had been pushing through a hamstring issue during training camp. He said that he felt it pull during his rushing attempt, but says that he is still able to walk on it.
A minor hamstring injury could still sideline Lloyd for the remainder of the preseason.
Expectations for MarShawn Lloyd’s Rookie Season
Assuming that he’s healthy, Lloyd should be able to be an exciting playmaker in Green Bay’s offense this year.
Lloyd was an explosive downhill runner for South Carolina and USC in college. In his lone season for the Trojans, he averaged 7.1 yards per carry with 820 yards and nine touchdowns.
That rushing efficiency made Lloyd an intriguing prospect ahead of the 2024 draft. He has a compact 5-foot-8, 220-pound frame to go along with an 8.62 Relative Athletic Score.
The Packers liked that athletic profile and production enough to take Lloyd in the third round. He’s done nothing but impress the coaching staff since arriving in Green Bay, including offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich.
“I would like to get (Lloyd) out there as much as possible,” Stenavich told reporters back in May. “So it’ll be nice to get him the ball in space and just see what he can do because I think he’s gonna add a good explosive element to the offense as well.”
Josh Jacobs will be the starting runner back. But expect the Packers to work in Lloyd in short spurts to try to hit some home runs in the rushing game as long as he can stay healthy as a rookie.
AJ Dillon’s Disappointing Preseason Debut
While Lloyd suffered an injury setback in the preseason opener, fellow running back AJ Dillon didn’t do himself any favors in a fight to stay on the 53-man roster.
Dillon came into training camp in significantly better shape than previous seasons. However, that didn’t stop him from rushing the ball four times for just two yards against the Browns. He had three straight opportunities to run for a first down that was just a yard away, but was stuffed three straight times for zero yards.
Green Bay’s offensive line might not have done Dillon many favors, but it’s his lack of decisiveness and downhill explosiveness that was disappointing. To make matters worse, the other running backs behind him on the depth chart had really strong days.
Emmanuel Wilson led the Packers with 67 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Even Jarveon Howard rushed the ball eight times for 44 yards.
A long-term injury to Dillon could help him sneak onto the final roster. However, with so much competition at the bottom of the depth chart, there’s a chance that Dillon ends up being the odd man out unless he can turn things around quickly in the final two preseason games.
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