This was supposed to be the year for running back MarShawn Lloyd. He finally survived the summer healthy. In the Green Bay Packers' Josh Jacobs-less rotation, Lloyd was supposed to be a stopgap answer, or at least a spark. A reason for hope.
The train never left the hype station. Not even Barry Sanders could overcome the Packers' offensive line, but Lloyd clearly isn't the answer, or even the best option on the roster.
Sadly, the explosiveness isn't quite there, or the physicality. Perhaps his past injuries have taken their invisible toll after robbing the former third-round pick of his first two seasons. Between Lloyd, Kaleb Johnson, and Chris Brooks, Lloyd is averaging the fewest yards per carry, 2.7.
A spectacular hurdle notwithstanding, it was more of the same against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lloyd finished the day with seven carries for 13 yards, behind both Brooks and Johnson.
MarShawn Lloyd isn't providing the boost Packers thought he could
Lloyd did feature in the passing game, thus far his biggest edge in the Packers' running back room. The team's fifth-most targeted receiver, Lloyd has nine catches for 49 yards on the season, and his only touchdown. He's been easily more involved as a pass-catcher than either of the other two.
Lloyd's versatility is nice, but it's not nearly enough. The offense needs big-play ability from someone in that room. Lloyd's longest run this season is 12 yards, while Johnson has one for 31 and Brooks has a 27-yarder. That's not the distribution Packers fans expected.
With Brooks' ankle injury, Lloyd stayed on the field for a season-high 33 plays in Week 4, and he'll continue getting his share of work because the Packers simply lack options.
Johnson is their leading rusher and the closest thing to a Jacobs-like powerback, but with two fumbles in three games, he's not exactly earning extra carries. Of course, Lloyd also has two fumbles in his last three games...
Since introducing Johnson in Week 2, the Packers had halved Lloyd's workload before facing Tampa. Brooks led the room in reps in each of the first three weeks. Lloyd doesn't help much as a blocker.
Before Week 4, he'd seemingly fallen out of favor with Matt LaFleur and company. His bump in playing time feels more tied to Brooks' injury and Johnson's ball-security concerns than to any shift in the Packers' thinking. 2.7 yards per carry. Sheesh.
The production isn't there, and the power and burst mostly aren't, either. Lloyd hurdling a near-upright defender was a sight to behold, but on routine carries, the Packers would prefer he put his foot in the ground and make a beeline for extra yards.
So far it's been too much jitter and not enough bug. Whatever that means. Watching this discombobulated version of Lloyd doesn't make any sense, either.
Let's be real, no one in this room is exciting. The painful part is that Lloyd, the group's least productive member thus far, was actually supposed to be.
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