Green Bay Packers Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd is Making a Good First Impression

The Green Bay Packers selected running back MarShawn Lloyd in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. After the first few days of rookie camp, the team is already excited about the potential the USC alum has to carve out a strong role in the offense. It is clear that Packer rookie MarShawn Lloyd is making a good first impression on the coaching staff.

Packers Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd is Making a Good First Impression: His College Career

Lloyd had impressive statistics at USC in his final year in college. He gained 820 yards on just 116 carries and scored nine rushing touchdowns. He averaged an impressive 7.1-yards per carry and missed two games during the season due to injuries.

Lloyd stands 5’8” and weighs 220 pounds. He isn’t likely to be a workhorse back with that size, but he has outstanding speed and elusiveness. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Lloyd forced 111 missed tackles on just 259 total touches over the last two seasons in college.

Those traits made him attractive to the Packers in the draft. After selecting Lloyd, GM Brian Gutekunst said, “He’s a 220-pound man. He’s packed in a tighter frame but like his ability to make people miss, he’s got a little juice to him and, again, he’s 220 pounds, he breaks tackles. We think his best football’s ahead of him.”

The First Impression in Rookie Camp

The Packers coaching staff has been pleased by what it saw from Lloyd at the first week of rookie camp. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich was excited about Lloyd’s potential and told reporters on Monday, “I would like to get him out there as much as possible.”

One thing that Stenavich took notice of was Lloyd’s speed. He was timed at a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash prior to the draft. “I like his speed. I like his speed a lot,” he added. “He had some good runs in OTAs where you saw his burst, you saw his vision, so I’m excited to see what he can do out of the backfield.”

Packers Rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd is Making a Good First Impression: Potential as a Receiver

Although Lloyd only caught 13 passes last season at USC, he did gain 232 yards on those receptions which is a 17.8-yard average. While that is a small sample size, a 17.8-yard average would be impressive for a wide receiver, let alone a running back. Over the course of his college career, Lloyd caught 34 passes.

Head coach Matt LaFleur is confident Lloyd can be a dangerous weapon as a receiver out of the backfield. “He definitely can be a weapon out of the backfield,” LaFleur said. “I love all the measurables. He’s a 220-pound back that runs 4.4 and can run routes out of the backfield. I think he could be a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.”

Confident Despite Some Areas of Concern

The biggest area of concern about Lloyd was his penchant for fumbling the football. In college, he fumbled three times in 2023 and eight times in his career. Holding onto the ball will be important for Lloyd going forward and it’s something the Packers coaching staff will have to work on with him in training camp.

Another thing he’ll need to work on is pass protection. This is an area of emphasis in the Green Bay offense. Lloyd didn’t have much experience in this area in college but had some shaky reps when he was asked to do it.

Despite this, Lloyd is confident in his abilities. “I’m the best running back in the draft, for sure,” he told reporters after the Packers selected him. “And I think Green Bay got the best running back in the draft because they think the exact same. I’m super confident with that.”

We’ll see whether he turns out to be the best running back chosen in this year’s draft. But if Lloyd lives up to his potential, he and Josh Jacobs have a chance to give the Packers an impressive one-two punch at running back this season and beyond.