Pro Bowl running back leads Green Bays deep backfield

Wes Hodkiewicz

"Pre-draft picture" is a position-by-position look at the Packers' roster heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. The series continues with the running backs.

GREEN BAY An extraordinarily strong draft class at running back comes at the same time the Packers are their deepest in the backfield.

General Manager Brian Gutekunst's pragmatic decision to sign former All-Pro running backJosh Jacobslast March paid immediate dividends for Green Bay, which finished top five in rushing offense for the first time in more than 20 years.

Individually, Jaocbs plowed his way to a third Pro Bowl appearance after rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns on 301 carries (4.4 yards per carry). He also caught his first career TD pass during a 24-22 win over Houston in Week 7.

The 5-foot-11, 227-pound running back's durability was essential for a Packers offense that lost veteran AJ Dillon (neck) and rookie third-round pickMarShawn Lloyd(hamstring) to season-altering injuries.

Jacobs powered Green Bay to several fast starts throughout the course of the year, especially early on. He led the NFL in first-half rushing yards with 846 while his 290 rushing yards on opening drives were the most by a Packers running back in the 21st century.

Jacobs took a major leadership role in Green Bay's locker room, as well, while stewarding a young position group that included former undrafted free agentEmanuel Wilson.

Thrust into the RB2 role after Dillon's injury, Wilson stepped up in a big way in his second NFL season. After carrying the ball just 14 times as a rookie, Wilson amassed 502 rushing yards and four TDs on 103 rushing attempts (4.9 avg).

Beyond just carrying the ball, the 5-foot-10, 226-pound running back took steps to round out his game by scoring his first NFL touchdown off a 30-yard catch-and-run in Green Bay's 30-14 rout of the Tennessee Titans in Week 3.

While Lloyd was limited to just one game during his rookie year, the Packers were fortunate enough to landChris Brooksat the end of training camp to complement the battery of Jacobs and Wilson.

A former undrafted free agent who spent his rookie season in Miami, Brooks started the year on the Packers' practice squad before receiving a Week 3 promotion to the active roster.

The 6-foot-1, 219-pound running back was an immediate fit in Head Coach Matt LaFleur's offense. Stout in pass protection, Brooks rushed for 183 yards and a TD on 36 carries (5.1 avg).

His versatility and reliability earned him a regular role in Green Bay's two-RB packages with Jacobs, occasionally serving as a lead blocker for his Pro Bowl counterpart.

Looking to rejoin the backfield fray in 2025 is the hungry and eager Lloyd, who was widely regarded as a Day 2 steal when the Packers drafted him in the third round (No. 88 overall) last April.

At 5-foot-9, 220 pounds, Lloyd projects as a powerful yet explosive runner who can make defenders miss in the open field, but he was limited to just six carries due to injury.

Sidelined with hip and hamstring injuries for most of training camp, Lloyd hoped to move forward once the calendar flipped to the regular season but soon aggravated his hamstring in Green Bay's home opener against Indianapolis.

Lloyd was designated to return off injured reserve in November but then suffered appendicitis during his ramp-up period, the final blow in a nightmarish rookie season.

The 24-year-old hopes to have put all that behind him, though. Before departing into his offseason, Lloyd visited Badger Athletic Performance in Madison to gain more insight into his hamstring problems and determine what preventive measures he can take moving forward.

For now, those four veterans make up the Packers' entire backfield after Dillon signed with Philadelphia as an unrestricted free agent in March.

Should Green Bay dive into what appears to be deep RB waters in this year's draft, it would be the sixth time in the last seven years the Packers have selected a running back.

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