Nez said he has stopped drafting rookie running back MarShawn Lloyd after Lloyd tweaked his groin again in camp. Nez pointed out the former USC back "has yet to be healthy" since arriving in Green Bay and a groin issue usually sidelines a runner for multiple weeks and saps burst even after he returns. With Lloyd repeatedly rehabbing instead of practicing, Nez is shifting his late-round Packers exposure to second-year back Emanuel Wilson while continuing to hammer Josh Jacobs, who now has "absolutely zero competition behind him" and therefore can’t, in Nez’s words, "do anything wrong at this price."

Sean Koerner advised fading MarShawn Lloyd as a Josh Jacobs contingency pick because Green Bay lacks a clear No. 2 back. If Jacobs goes down, Koerner expects a three-headed committee: Lloyd would be schemed for explosive touches, Emmanuel Wilson would handle traditional early-down carries, and Chris Brooks would draw third-down and pass-pro snaps, with rookie WR Tyrone Williams occasionally lining up in the backfield. That workload soup caps every backup’s ceiling at fringe RB3 numbers even in a best-case scenario. Koerner added that the Packers would likely lean more on an upgraded passing attack rather than force-feed any replacement runner. Given Jacobs’ age-27 mileage and 300-touch seasons, Koerner prefers to chase clearer handcuffs such as Tyler Allgeier or Chase Brown instead of burning a late pick on Lloyd in drafts.

Colm Kelly said MarShawn Lloyd is one of the few late-round rookie backs who does not need an injury to matter right away. Kelly reminded Kevin that Lloyd’s 2023 season disappeared for “a variety of reasons,” yet the coaching staff had been talking up a breakout before that setback and the entire offense projects to take a step forward this year. Because of those circumstances, Kelly expects Lloyd to claim standalone snaps immediately—something he is not projecting for fellow rookies Will Shipley or RJ Giddens. Grabbing Lloyd after that contingent-only tier, in Kelly’s view, gives the roster an extra source of usable RB points early in the Best Ball Mania V regular season while still preserving the normal rookie upside later in the year.

Tom Strachan urged managers to re-visit MarShawn Lloyd, noting the Packers ran on 49.3 % of snaps last season and fed Josh Jacobs 20.6 touches per game. After Week 10 Jacobs never dipped below 17 touches, but Green Bay still cycled through Emanuel Wilson and Christopher Brooks for 117 carries combined—proof they want a secondary option. Lloyd’s rookie season was derailed by a hamstring strain, ankle sprain, and emergency appendectomy, but camp buzz was glowing before those setbacks. Now penciled in as RB2, Lloyd could siphon early-down work to keep Jacobs fresh and carries real league-winning upside if Jacobs goes down on the NFL’s run-centric offense.

Pete Overzet explained why he keeps gravitating toward MarShawn Lloyd over other late-round rookie backs like Taj Brooks or Breschard Smith. In his personal probability model, Lloyd carries roughly a 70 % chance of opening the year as Green Bay’s RB2 behind Josh Jacobs, whereas he gives Brooks and Smith closer to a 20–25 % shot of being the clear No. 2 in their respective backfields. That confidence stems from three factors: (1) the Packers spent Day-2 capital on Lloyd, (2) coaches have already name-checked him when discussing potential ‘alpha’ pass-game contributors, and (3) the only backs ahead of him are a soon-to-be-30 Josh Jacobs and journeyman A.J. Dillon. Because early best-ball contests punish zeros, Overzet prefers allocating late bullets to runners with a stronger RB2 floor while still retaining contingent RB1 upside if the starter misses time.

Pete Overzet endorsed MarShawn Lloyd as a round-16/17 dart who could matter late in the season. He likes pairing Lloyd with Jayden Reed for cheap Green Bay correlation and said he feels more confident about Lloyd’s standing on the Packers’ depth chart than he does about similarly priced rookies such as Devin Neal in New Orleans. The selling points: Lloyd’s 4.46 speed and 93rd-percentile burst score fit the outside-zone looks Matt LaFleur leans on, the only backs in front of him are a soon-to-be-30 Aaron Jones and journeyman A.J. Dillon, and Green Bay backed their interest with day-two draft capital. Overzet thinks Lloyd could finish 2024 as the Packers’ best runner and provide spike weeks in the tournament window while costing almost nothing today.

Davis Mattek flagged MarShawn Lloyd as a must-grab in Round 16 best-ball drafts. Mattek reminded listeners that Matt LaFleur is fanatically committed to a two-back rotation—last year he still handed touches to UDFA Emmanuel Wilson and practice-squad refugee Chris Brooks while Lloyd sat out with an emergency appendectomy. The third-round pick now has that appendix out for good, eliminating the 2024 durability red flag. Mattek expects LaFleur to keep the backfield split even after drafting big WR/RB hybrid Savian— projecting roughly 90-100 carries and a handful of weekly targets for Lloyd even in a healthy offense. If the starter misses any time, Lloyd’s fresh legs and Day-2 pedigree give him a clear runway to 15-plus touches and league-winning upside. Mattek called him “Trey Benson five rounds cheaper” and is stuffing exposure at his current price.

Jon Warner called MarShawn Lloyd the forgotten back of 2023 rookie fever and a screaming value in the 17th round of Sprint drafts. Warner reminded listeners that Lloyd was pushed into the 120s last summer on raw athleticism alone, then cooled when USC’s offense sputtered. Now he lands in Green Bay behind 26-year-old Josh Jacobs, who is coming off a 3.5-yards-per-carry season and nearly 400 touches worth of tread. Warner expects Matt LaFleur to revive the two-back rotation that allowed both Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon to be fantasy relevant, noting the Packers have finished top-12 in neutral-situation rush rate in four of the last five seasons. If Jacobs misses time—or simply cedes goal-line work the way Jones once did—Lloyd’s 215-pound frame and 4.46 speed give him "league-winner contingency juice" at a near-free cost.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said now is the moment to hoard MarShawn Lloyd shares because he expects the rookie to jump a full round into the 15th by the end of training camp. Lloyd is already penciled in as the Packers’ No. 2 back behind Josh Jacobs, which Pat believes puts him one injury or workload tweak away from 12-plus weekly touches. At today’s 17th-/18th-round Sprint price you are paying for a pure stash, but Pat argued that closing-line value, contingent touch upside and Green Bay’s historically run-heavy red-zone profile combine to make Lloyd one of the few late backs who can actually start for you in fantasy playoffs.

Rob Coakley called MarShawn Lloyd one of the biggest winners of the real-life draft and could not believe the rookie was still available in the 16th. Coakley told viewers they should start yanking Lloyd up several rounds—into the early-teens at minimum—because sharper rooms will not let a day-two back with an immediate path to touches linger this late much longer. In a cumulative-scoring format, he is happy to ‘reach’ for Lloyd now, betting that the combination of draft capital and a shallow depth chart produces meaningful weekly volume before the market fully corrects.

Rob Coakley called MarShawn Lloyd a “big winner on draft day” and said drafters need to start yanking him up the board instead of waiting until the back half of the teens. Coakley reasoned that Lloyd’s NFL landing spot and draft capital wiped out any real competition for early-down work, giving him a realistic path to immediate touches and spike-week upside in cumulative-scoring formats. Because Round 16 quickly turns into a wasteland, Coakley is perfectly happy paying a slight premium—two to three rounds ahead of current ADP—to secure exposure before the market corrects.

Davis Mattek called MarShawn Lloyd a ‘pretty big winner’ coming out of the draft because the front office declined to add meaningful backfield competition. Lloyd’s only threats remain special-teamers Patrick Wilson and Emmanuel Wilson, neither of whom profiles as more than a change-of-pace option. Mattek noted that Lloyd already flashed explosive upside with a 4.38 forty and a 28-percent college target share, making him uniquely positioned to siphon both early-down carries and third-down work if the coaching staff tires of the committee. With an ADP outside the top-150 and no veterans like Austin Ekeler or J.K. Dobbins signing, Mattek is grabbing Lloyd as a final-round lottery ticket who could walk into 12-15 touches by mid-season.

Eric Luttrell said MarShawn Lloyd is the easiest way to grab cheap asymmetric upside in the final two rounds of Best Ball Mania 6. Green Bay spent Day-2 capital on Lloyd last year, rode out a freak appendectomy and ankle sprain that wiped out his rookie season, then passed on adding any meaningful back behind new starter Josh Jacobs. Luttrell argued that tells us the Packers are optimistic about Lloyd’s health and plan on using a two-back rotation—something Matt LaFleur has preferred in every season he has coached. If Jacobs were to miss time, Lloyd would vault into a featured role with only UDFA Emanuel Wilson behind him. Even without an injury, Luttrell expects Lloyd to siphon 6-10 touches per game, giving him weekly spike-week potential at a completely free ADP. His target exposure: “at least eight percent of my portfolio before training-camp blurbs push him inside the top 150.”