Who Should I Start? MarShawn Lloyd or Jaleel McLaughlin

Thursday, July 17, 10:38 PM

Last year, Green Bay Packers running backs Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks shared backup duties behind bell-cow Josh Jacobs. But their biggest challenger for the No. 2 job in 2025 comes from MarShawn Lloyd, writes Packers.com's Mike Spofford. The third-rounder out of USC in 2024 was derailed by injuries in his rookie season, first by a hip injury early in training camp and then a hamstring injury in the preseason. Lloyd injured his ankle in his lone regular-season appearance in Week 2 and then had appendicitis that required emergency surgery when he was on the verge of coming off Injured Reserve. The 5-foot-9, 220-pounder offers an intriguing mix of speed, shiftiness and power that will make him an interesting handcuff option for fantasy managers that draft Jacobs. In addition to beating out Wilson and Brooks, Lloyd will need to solve ball-security issues he had in college.

Monday, January 13, 10:50 AM

Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin was a complete non-factor in the team's 31-7 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday on wild-card weekend. Like most of the season, Denver's backfield was stuck in the mud and couldn't get anything going to control the game, with rookie quarterback Bo Nix leading the team with 43 rushing yards on four carries. McLaughlin, who had been the leader of a committee backfield late in the season, had only two rushing attempts for minus-two yards while catching his only target for no gain. It was a dismal end to the 24-year-old's second season in the NFL. He finished with 113 carries for 496 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and only one rushing touchdown in 16 regular-season games while adding 24 catches for 76 yards and two more TDs through the air. Denver will surely look to upgrade their backfield in the offseason to give more help to Nix in 2025.