“Pre-draft picture” is a position-by-position look at the Packers’ roster heading into the 2026 NFL Draft. The series continues with the running backs.
GREEN BAY – The Packers like what they have in their top three running backs.
The question is how much they can count on one of those backups given his injury troubles.
Starting at the top, Josh Jacobs is back for another year as the bell cow, hoping for better health himself after playing a good portion of 2025 banged up. Jacobs (5-10, 223) missed only two games but gutted out several others less than full strength as he carried the ball 67 fewer times and gained 400 fewer yards compared to his Pro Bowl 2024 campaign.
His nose for the end zone didn’t suffer, though, as he still rushed for 13 TDs, giving him 28 scores on the ground in just two seasons in Green Bay.
Shortly before Emanuel Wilson left via free agency for Seattle, veteran Chris Brooks re-signed as a restricted free agent to be one backup to Jacobs and continue his solid work as a third-down role player. Brooks (6-1, 219) is reliable in pass protection and can gain yards when asked, rushing 63 times for 289 yards and catching 24 passes for 160 yards in his two seasons with the Packers.
The other backup in the wake of Wilson’s departure is 2024 third-round draft pick MarShawn Lloyd, who has experienced one of the most rotten runs of injury luck in recent memory around here. A combination of hamstring, ankle and groin injuries, along with various setbacks while trying to return, has limited Lloyd to action in just one regular-season game in two years.
The team remains eager to see what Lloyd’s 5-9, 220-pound frame and explosive athleticism can bring to the offense, but it’s tough to bank on anything based on what’s transpired.
That could put Green Bay in the market for an additional running back in this draft, and spending a Day 2 pick on one, as they did with Lloyd two years ago, isn’t out of the question given Jacobs will turn 29 shortly after the 2026 season ends.
The position isn’t especially deep, either, with just two other running backs currently on the roster in veteran Pierre Strong Jr. and developmental prospect Damien Martinez.
Strong (5-11, 207) was a fourth-round pick in 2022 by New England and has played for both the Patriots and Browns, rushing for 499 yards on 99 carries in his career. He spent last season on Green Bay’s practice squad and was elevated to the gameday roster three times but did not see any action.
Martinez (6-0, 217) was a seventh-round pick last year by Seattle and spent some time on the Seahawks’ practice squad before signing with Green Bay’s in Week 18. In college, Martinez played two years at Oregon State followed by one at Miami, where he posted a 1,000-yard rushing season.
Pre-draft picture series, previous installments
QBs: Love still on rise as search for new backup begins
