Packers Must Find No. 2 RB; Options Include Power, Speed (and MarShawn Lloyd)

GREEN BAY – In their search for depth in the backfield, the Green Bay Packers didn’t select a running back in last month’s NFL Draft.

That doesn’t mean there are no drafted running backs, though, behind Josh Jacobs.

Indeed, there are a bunch of draft picks in the backfield with MarShawn Lloyd, who the Packers drafted in the third round in 2024; Pierre Strong, a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in 2022; and Damien Martinez, a seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2025.

“I think the biggest thing (is) we got the guys,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said on Wednesday at Lambeau Field. “Obviously, staying healthy is going to be a part of it.”

When OTAs kick off after Memorial Day, Chris Brooks will be the front-runner for the No. 2 job. He has proven himself to be a physical blocker in pass protection. During his infrequent opportunities as a ball-carrier, he’s shown himself to be a physical runner. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s averaged 3.79 yards after contact on running plays for his career.

“Last year, we didn’t use him as much carrying the ball but, his first year, he was really effective with the ball in his hands,” Sirmans said.

“Obviously, he’s not an open-field, explosive-type of runner from that standpoint, but what he brings us to that table is a guy that’s going to be forceful, runs with purpose and is a lot better with the football in his hands than what sometimes we give him credit for, just because last year, his carries and stuff went down in comparison to his first year.”

Strong spent last season on Green Bay’s practice squad and did not play in a game. As a rookie with the Patriots in 2022 and with the Browns in 2023 and 2024, he averaged 5.0 yards per carry. His 99 career carries include runs of 44 and 40 yards.

Pierre Strong Jr. was drafted with pick 127 of round 4 in the 2022 draft class. He scored a 9.35 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 107 out of 1632 RB from 1987 to 2022. https://t.co/aiXYuKPIDV #RAS #Patriots pic.twitter.com/UZZW7Dk242
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 30, 2022

“He’s one of those guys that’s more of a speed guy and use him in space [and can] make things happen in the pass game,” Sirmans said. “So, his addition, bringing him along was kind of to give us that phase of it, because he’ll be good enough in our outsize-zone stuff and things in between the tackles. Definitely a really good and great addition for us from that standpoint.”

Martinez brings sort of the opposite skill-set. When the Seahawks drafted him, he coined himself “Beast Mode 2.0.” At Miami in 2024, he averaged 6.3 yards per carry. His 4.5 yards after contact per carry ranked third among Power 4 schools, according to PFF.

Damien Martinez was drafted in round 7 pick 223 in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 8.19 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 382 out of 2106 RB from 1987 to 2025. https://t.co/5U5494pqnC pic.twitter.com/zelt81ezf2
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 26, 2025

“Damien, to be honest, that was a guy I really liked when he came out as a rookie,” Sirmans said. “He’s a guy that I got late, watched his tape, so when we were able to get him, and now we’re able to see just some of the things I saw on tape, just how explosive he is off of his cuts.

“Just like with Pierre, I’m looking forward to preseason, getting them in the games, getting them to the point where they could play real football. So, all the things you saw before, you can see it actually happen live against real competition.”

When Sirmans was talking about Brooks, he segued into the most tantalizing candidate, Lloyd, who at 220 pounds has the power to run over defenders and with 4.48 speed has the ability to take it to the house.

MarShawn Lloyd was drafted in round 3 pick 88 in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 8.62 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 264 out of 1903 RB from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/KPpbVUIKGf pic.twitter.com/EgCmTnXD98
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 27, 2024

“Obviously, we all know who we’re waiting (for),” Sirmans said.

The wait has been everlasting.

One injury after another has limited Lloyd to one game in two seasons. He hasn’t played since Week 2 of his rookie season, meaning he’s missed 32 consecutive regular-season games.

“He feels really confident,” Sirmans said. “Feels like the things he did in the offseason has gotten him to the point where he feels good that he’s ready to come in and contribute.”

Of course, expecting Lloyd to contribute has been a fool’s errand for two seasons. However, it’s spring, and hope springs eternal. So, Sirmans is proceeding with cautious optimism.

“I do think so because he did something that he hasn’t done before working with a group, which was his first time in the offseason working with a group,” Sirmans said. “So, I do think that gave him a lot of confidence.

“He talked about how much stronger he is just in his lower half of his body. Stronger than he’s ever been. So, with all those things, it’s giving him confidence and he’s got a regiment that he does before we even go out to practice. We’re very optimistic, but we’ve all been optimistic before, so we just got to wait and see what’s going to happen. But he feels confident (and) I feel confident that he’s finally gotten to that point where he can be in there and be ready to play a full season.”

If Lloyd really and truly can stay healthy, he could give the Packers exactly what they were hoping for after signing Jacobs and drafting Lloyd in 2024.

“He can do things that the other guys can’t in terms of his speed and quickness,” Sirmans said. “I don’t want to say they can’t, but not at the level that he can do it because he’s the fastest and the quickest guy that we have. So, if he’s healthy, it does make our job easier from having another guy back there that’s going to add some explosiveness to the offense.”

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