GREEN BAY \u2014 Josh Jacobs ran for exactly 400 fewer yards last year than he\u2019d gained in his first season with the Green Bay Packers, and that dip in productivity could be traced to two causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One, the Packers\u2019 often ramshackle offensive line, which ranked 23rd in the 32-team NFL in run-blocking efficiency (and 26th in pass-blocking success rate) based on Pro Football Focus\u2019 metrics.<\/p>\n
And two, Jacobs spent the second half of the season battling a myriad of injuries, with a bone bruise in his left knee being the most painful and problematic.<\/p>\n
After rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024, Jacobs missed two games and parts of several others with those injuries, sustaining the knee injury against the New York Giants in mid-November. Coupled with the inconsistent play up front, Jacobs finished the year with 929 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
While his teammates and coaches appreciated and respected his play-through-the-pain approach \u2014 Jacobs is such a we-not-me guy that he volunteered to return kickoffs in the team\u2019s season-ending NFC wild card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears on Jan. 10 \u2014 the decreased production was concerning, especially for a player who turned 28 on Feb. 11 and whose bruising running style entails lots of contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh always puts the team before himself every single time,\u201d star edge rusher Micah Parsons said in November. \u201cHe\u2019s always been that guy to be like, \u2018I\u2019m pushing through it. I\u2019m putting my life out here for y\u2019all,\u2019 and let us know how much he cares about us. That shows you his mental toughness, what he brings to this team, what he brings to the game, and you see it in his play style. His play style is aggressive as hell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how he attacks his treatment, that\u2019s how he attacks his practice regimen. That means a lot having one of your leaders out there on the field. Knowing what he\u2019s going through, that\u2019s challenging as hell, but that\u2019s kind of the guy he is, and I couldn\u2019t be more happy to be his teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n
To wit: For the second straight year, Jacobs had more yards after contact (470) than he had before contact (459) for the second straight year. In his last two years with the Las Vegas Raiders before coming to Green Bay, he had more yards before contact than afterward.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI feel like the big thing about me, and when it comes to the guys in this locker room, is there\u2019s certain respect level that we have to have for each other and for our craft. And for me, man, it’s big,\u201d Jacobs said. \u201cIt’s hard for me to be able to look at somebody in their eyes and quit on them \u2014 or look at them in the eyes and be like, \u2018Man, I didn’t give it everything I had for you.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, we\u2019re in this together, and that’s something that I always been a big stickler of because, even now, I’m taking less practice reps, and another guy\u2019s got to get up and do more. And that affects him and his body and everybody else. So it’s not wanting to let nobody down, but it’s also having the mentality to still want to be great and excel in everything you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite his heart being in the right place, Jacobs\u2019 running style undeniably puts him in greater danger of injury than backs who shy away from contact or are able to limit the direct hits they take.<\/p>\n
And after allowing Emanuel Wilson to walk in free agency \u2014 Wilson joined the defending Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks, who are looking to replace Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, on a one-year, $2.1 million deal \u2014 the Packers\u2019 plans for backing up Jacobs are unclear.<\/p>\n
In his first NFL start, Wilson ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries in a win over the Minnesota Vikings, but the Packers made little effort to keep him.<\/p>\n
The Packers did bring back veteran Chris Brooks, who signed a two-year, $4.85 million extension before free agency started. But Brooks is more of a third-down back and special-teamer, and had fewer carries (27) and rushing yards (106) for the whole season than Wilson had against the Vikings.<\/p>\n
Then, there\u2019s third-year back MarShawn Lloyd, whose first two NFL seasons have been completely derailed by injuries.<\/p>\n
After starting his rookie training camp on the non-football injury list with an offseason hip injury, the 2024 third-round pick was sidelined for the back half of camp and the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil after suffering a hamstring injury during his one preseason game appearance.<\/p>\n
Lloyd made his NFL regular-season debut in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field, but only played 10 snaps and carried six times for 15 yards before an ankle injury ended his day. The Packers put him on injured reserve two days later.<\/p>\n
And then, on the verge of being activated from IR, he underwent an emergency appendectomy and never played again.<\/p>\n
Then last season, Lloyd suffered a training-camp calf injury that put him on injured reserve to start the year, then suffered a hamstring injury in December and wound up missing the entire season.<\/p>\n
As a result, he\u2019s played in just one of a possible 36 games (including playoffs) during his time in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that\u2019s very, very, very unfortunate because this guy has worked his ass off to battle back,\u201d head coach Matt LaFleur said at the time. \u201cTo be in that spot again, it\u2019s just, what do you say to him?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to investigate and try to figure out why this keeps occurring but it\u2019s certainly unfortunate, and I feel bad \u2014 I really do. I feel extremely bad for MarShawn.\u201d<\/p>\n
While general manager Brian Gutekunst still spoke highly of Lloyd at the annual NFL Meetings in Arizona, he also made it clear that the running back room needs reinforcements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly going to add competition to that room,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cThere\u2019s guys we really like, but I\u2019m sure there will be more competition to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Packers depth chart<\/p>\n
8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Josh Jacobs \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5-10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 223\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 28\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Alabama<\/p>\n
30\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chris Brooks\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 219\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 BYU<\/p>\n
32\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 MarShawn Lloyd\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5-9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 220\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 USC<\/p>\n
22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pierre Strong Jr.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 5-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 207\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 South Dakota State<\/p>\n
26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Damien Martinez\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RB\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 6-0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 217\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miami<\/p>\n
Best in class | Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame.<\/p>\n
Love figures to be the only running back to go in the first round, and with good reason. The Heisman Trophy finalist is coming off a 1,372-yard, 18-touchdown season in his third and final year in South Bend, and his speed (a 4.36-second 40-yard dash), explosiveness, cutting ability and balance make him the kind of big-time weapon offenses seek.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bring receiving ability, running ability, blocking ability, and just overall, I feel like I’m a pretty good player,\u201d Love said in the understatement of the year at the NFL scouting combine in February. \u201cI can do anything you need me to do, and I’m willing to do anything for any team asks since I want to make sure \u00a0that I\u2019m giving team my all.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou name it, I’m willing to do anything for any team to have success. Running backs are very valuable. I feel like that’s just being more and more recognized as of today. I want to be used as a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next men up | Jadarian Price, Notre Dame; Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas; Emmett Johnson, Nebraska; Kaytron Allen, Penn State; Jonah Coleman, Washington.<\/p>\n
Pick to click | Kaelon Black, Indiana.<\/p>\n
While Black is pegged to go sometime on Day 3 of the draft, long after his quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, is expected to go No. 1 overall, the 5-foot-9, 211-pound Black might be right in the Packers\u2019 wheelhouse as a potential fifth- or sixth-round pick.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s probably why the Packers used one of their 30 allotted visits to the team\u2019s Lambeau Field headquarters on Black, who ran for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns for the national champion Hoosiers.<\/p>\n
Somehow, Black wasn\u2019t invited to the NFL scouting combine, so that likely factored into the Packers\u2019 decision to bring him to Green Bay on a visit. At his pro day on campus, he ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash \u2014 plenty fast to merit a Day 3 pick.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I can do it all \u2014 pass protect, catch the ball and run the ball,\u201d said Black, who played for Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison before following him to IU. \u201cI\u2019m just ready to go out there and ball and show all the teams what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
History lesson | Over the past 26 drafts, starting in 2000, the Packers have drafted only 15 running backs, with Lloyd being the most recent. Three of them \u2014 Jamaal Williams (fourth), Jones (fifth), and DeVante Mays (seventh) were taken in the same 2017 draft \u2014 and the Packers have taken as many in the seventh round (five) as they have in the first, second or third rounds combined (five).<\/p>\n
Of the three second-round picks \u2014 Brandon Jackson in 2007, Eddie Lacy in 2013 and Dillon in 2020 \u2014 only Lacy managed to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a season, doing so in 2013 and 2014.<\/p>\n
Jones, meanwhile, had three 1,000-yard seasons and averaged 5.0 yards per carry \u2014 the highest average of any running back in Packers history with at least 100 attempts \u2014 before the Packers pivoted from him to Jacobs in 2024.<\/p>\n
Given Jacobs\u2019 impressive first season in Green Bay and the investment they made in Lloyd in the 2024 draft, it\u2019s hard to imagine Gutekunst investing in the position in this draft.<\/p>\n
PACKERS 2026 NFL DRAFT PREVIEW SCHEDULE<\/p>\n
Sunday, April 12 \u2014 QUARTERBACKS<\/p>\n
Monday, April 13 \u2014 RUNNING BACKS<\/p>\n
Tuesday, April 14 \u2014 WIDE RECEIVERS<\/p>\n
Wednesday, April 15 \u2014 TIGHT ENDS<\/p>\n
Thursday, April 16 \u2014 OFFENSIVE LINEMEN<\/p>\n
Friday, April 17 \u2014 DEFENSIVE LINEMEN<\/p>\n
Saturday, April 18 \u2014 EDGE RUSHERS<\/p>\n
Sunday, April 19 \u2014 LINEBACKERS<\/p>\n
Monday, April 20 \u2014 CORNERBACKS<\/p>\n
Tuesday, April 21 \u2014 SAFETIES<\/p>\n
Wednesday, April 22 \u2014 SPECIALISTS<\/p>\n
Thursday, April 23 \u2014 DRAFT DAY PREVIEW<\/p>\n
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