Who Should I Start? MarShawn Lloyd or Keaton Mitchell

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.

Tuesday, June 24, 11:08 PM

Baltimore Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell suffered an ACL tear in his knee in his rookie year in 2023 but has shown the same speed and explosiveness in offseason workouts that he teased back in 2023 before his season-ending injury. Mitchell was still navigating physical and mental hurdles when he returned last November to average just 2.0 yards per carry in five regular-season games. The Athletic's Jeff Zrebiec writes that the 23-year-old has looked quicker and more assertive during offseason workouts in recent weeks, which is a great development for the Ravens. Although Derrick Henry remains the RB1 workhorse in Baltimore, he's not getting any younger, and Mitchell is far too explosive not to be used in 2025. Mitchell has the most upside of the Ravens' backup RBs and would be a fine handcuff to Henry.