The Green Bay Packers’ running back pecking order behind Josh Jacobs will be one of the fiercer camp battles to monitor throughout the offseason. There are two leading candidates vying for playing time behind Jacobs: Marshawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks. Both are capable second backs, but exactly how capable is the question, although they are uncertain options for completely different reasons.
If you’ve followed the Packers over the last two seasons, you know about the Marshawn Lloyd situation. The former third-round pick has played in only one game. He’s suffered a plethora of injuries in his first two seasons and has seen multiple specialists, all to end up back on the IR.
However, anytime he’s been on the field, he offers an exorbitant amount of juice that this offense has craved. If Lloyd is healthy (that’s a huge if), he’s the obvious and perfect second, change-of-pace back for this offense.
Chris Brooks is the guy I’d bet gets the second-most carries. Brooks put together a solid season last year after coming into camp buried fourth on the depth chart. He didn’t have gaudy numbers, ending the season with just 197 total yards, but he gave Green Bay a skill that the guys in front of him lacked: pass protection.
This offseason, Green Bay operated as if it prioritized Brooks over Emanuel Wilson, signing Brooks and letting Wilson walk. With Wilson in Seattle, Brooks should get a bigger opportunity to show off more of his skillset beyond the obvious passing down and pass-blocking snaps that he got in the past. What he looks like in that role is to be determined.
Still, what if Lloyd yet again can’t stay healthy, and Brooks is who he has been, a solid third back who’s a great pass protector and doesn’t give much else to the run game? Then, can any of the backs beyond the top two carve out a role on the offense?
Behind Jacobs, Lloyd, and Brooks are journeyman Pierre Strong, second-year back Damien Martinez, and rookie undrafted free agent Jaden Nixon.
Strong is likely to start ahead of Martinez and Nixon on the depth chart because of experience, and he could hold down that spot. However, I’m not going to spend too much time on him because there doesn’t feel like there’s much upside. Strong seems locked into his role as the veteran practice squad back who will give you looks in practice, and the Packers could call him up in a pinch.
Martinez is the most intriguing of the three backs. He had a lot of fans in last year’s draft, with people thinking he could go as early as Day 2 out of Miami. However, every indication since he left Coral Gables tells us NFL teams didn’t think the same.
The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks took him in the seventh round, but they cut him at the end of training camp, signed him to the practice squad, and then cut him and re-signed him to the practice squad after Week 1. They later cut him from the practice squad again after Week 3. Martinez spent the rest of the season temporarily unemployed until he worked out and signed with Green Bay on December 30.
The disconnect between the consensus on him pre-draft and what the NFL has shown they think of him is one of the more bizarre cases I’ve seen. He might not be an NFL player, but the Packers took a chance on him, and he’ll have an opportunity in a shallow room to earn a roster spot in camp. Hopefully, his tenure with the Packers goes better than his Friday did.
USF’s Jaden Nixon is the most unknown of the group. He’s small (5’9” 199 lbs.), not a great athlete (3.20 RAS), and older (fifth-year senior). He has had just 324 rushing attempts over those five years. You may be wondering why the Packers are rostering him.
On paper, despite his profile, he’s a gritty running back with special-teams ability and NFL bloodlines. As with Brooks, he’s an awesome pass blocker despite his frame. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry on just 71 carries last season in the Big 12, and he was a great college kick returner. Brooks was the primary kick returner in each of his last four seasons, averaging 22.8 yards per return, and led the Big 12 in 2022 (then at Oklahoma State) in yards per return with 27.5. He is also Adrian Peterson’s cousin.
Nixon is unlikely to make a run at any playing time this season, but I don’t think he’s in Green Bay to be a running back; I think he’s here to return kicks. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stuck around on the practice squad this season and potentially made a run at a roster spot as a kick returner in the future.
Skyy Moore is likely to be the returner this season after signing with Green Bay this offseason, but that’s just a one-year deal. If Nixon shows some chops as a returner and the ability to be a good enough RB3, he could be in line for a spot in the years to come.
Outside of the current roster, Trey Benson is a name I want to hit on briefly. The Arizona Cardinals drafted Benson under new Packers DC Jonathan Gannon and spent most of his first two seasons injured. However, when the former third-round pick was healthy, he averaged 4.9 yards per carry.
Now, with Jeremiyah Love and Tyler Allgeier in the Arizona Cardinals running back room, Benson is even more buried than before. Buying low on a guy like Benson makes a lot of sense for Green Bay if no one runs away with the RB2 job.
Josh Jacobs is unlikely to play much in the preseason. Therefore, we’re going to get good looks at all of these players. It will be one of the main things I’ll keep an eye on in every game and throughout the offseason.
