USC Football: Now-Packer MarShawn Lloyd Had Expected 2 Other NFC Teams to Draft Him

Which teams might have taken Lloyd?

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Former USC football running back MarShawn Lloyd was drafted 88th overall by the Green Bay Packers last month. Prior to Green Bay taking him, there was a good chance that Lloyd almost landed with two other teams instead of the Packers.

Lloyd thought one team that could have drafted him was the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys had the pick before the Packers took Lloyd at No. 87, but instead selected Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau. Given the pre-draft interest the Cowboys had shown in Lloyd and the team losing their top running back Tony Pollard this season, it would not have been surprising to see them go with Lloyd at No. 87, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Cowboys' NFC East rival, the New York Giants, also had interest in Lloyd. Like Dallas, New York lost their top running back in Saquon Barkley, who went to the Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Giants were unable to pull off acquiring Lloyd since they didn't have a pick later in the third round, per Fowler. They did have an early third round pick, but they drafted cornerback Andru Phillips at No. 70 overall.

Instead, Lloyd will join the Packers where he will team up with former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs and A.J. Dillon in the backfield. Jacobs will likely take on the role as lead back since he is the more experienced NFL veteran. Lloyd certainly should have a place in the running game and offense though, and could provide a nice change of pace back for the Packers.

Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich spoke on how he sees this backfield working out, calling Jacobs someone they can have in the game all the time. Still, he added that he wants to get Lloyd on the field as well.

"I would like to get (Lloyd) out there as much as possible," Stenavich said, via NFL.com's Eric Edholm. "He's got a skill set that's a little bit different than AJ's as far as his speed. He's not quite the bruiser that (Dillon) is obviously, but he's got a different type of skill set. 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."

Lloyd might not get regular targets with Dillon and Jacobs also there, but he can certainly provide that 'explosive element.' Lloyd ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the company and averaged 7.1 yards per carry in his final season at USC. With Lloyd also working on his pass-catching ability through the pre-draft process, he has the skills to give the Packers another element to their backfield.

More USC: Green Bay Sees Elements of Former Pro Bowler in MarShawn Lloyd