Injury woes have sidelined the explosive MarShawn Lloyd for two seasons, but his elite athleticism makes him the ultimate wild card for the Green Bay Packers' 2026 pursuit of a Super Bowl.
We're officially 40 days from the start of the 2026 NFL season for the Green Bay Packers. Whether you're ready or not, football season is here.
The Packers kick off their 2026 season against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Sept. 13, from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Talk about pressure. The Vikings are certainly in a transitional place as a franchise, but getting going against an NFC North foe ratchets up the intensity of this season from the get-go.
It's a big season for the Packers. There's a belief that they're in a Super Bowl window right now, which means every single game is important. That means the intensity will be there in Week 2 at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets and it will certainly be there in Week 3 against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Packers will play at Lambeau Field for the first time in 2026.
There's going to be a lot of proverbial ink spilled on this 2026 season and we here at PackersRoundtable hope that you spend as much time as possible with us talking about the ins and outs and ups and downs of the Packers.
As we prepare for the 2026 season, though, we're going to kick things off with a rankings series looking at the Top 50 Packers heading into the 2025 season.
At No. 40, we have running back MarShawn Lloyd
Ranking the Top 50 Packers Heading Into 2026: No. 40, MarShawn Lloyd
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.Who is MarShawn Lloyd? That's the question that will be definitively answered in 2026.
Is he the explosive and athletic player the Packers thought they were getting out of USC with the 88th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft?
That player rushed for 820 yards and nine touchdowns for the Trojans while adding 13 catches for 232 yards through the air. Lloyd rushed for 7.1 yards per carry and notched 17.8 yards per catch at USC.
That's explosive. There's no doubt about it.
Is Lloyd the oft-injured player the Packers have seen in 2024 and 2025?
For as much potential as he showed at USC, the truth of the matter is that Lloyd has played only 10 regular-season snaps in the NFL.
During his rookie season, Lloyd dealt with hip, hamstring and ankle injuries while also having to have an appendectomy. Last summer, he had a groin injury and then in the preseason he hurt his hamstring.
Lloyd has done a ton of work to try to figure out his injury issue, and the Packers expect him to be the RB2 this season. Lloyd has the talent to be a Top 10 player on this team, but the lack of health history holds him back.
2025 Synopsis:
Lloyd didn't play at all during the 2025 regular season. In the preseason, he caught one pass for 33 yards before injuring himself.
Notable Quotables:
"This guy, MarShawn. I feel like a lot of people forgot what he's capable of. He shows up on a daily basis and puts in the work, and he's flying a million miles an hour." - Evan Williams
Projected Role in 2026:
He's going to be Green Bay's RB2 and we're going to go out on a limb and project a fully healthy season from him. Here's a stat line: 87 carries for 554 yards and three rushing touchdowns with 12 catches for 120 yards and one touchdown as a receiver.
Next year, he'll enter way higher up in these rankings.
Previous Rankings:
