Last season, the Green Bay Packers’ season ended in heartbreak, as they lost each of their final four games of the regular season to finish with the NFC’s seventh seed at 9-7-1. Then, they took a fourth-quarter lead in the Wild Card Round against the arch-rival Chicago Bears before Caleb Williams led back-to-back touchdown drives to send them home. Their 2026 campaign might’ve already started with a bout of trouble.
Running back Josh Jacobs was one of Green Bay’s more reliable players last season, pacing the team with 1,211 yards from scrimmage and 14 total touchdowns despite missing two games with a bone bruise suffered late in the season. However, Jacobs might not be available for the entire season. Over the offseason, he was arrested after a domestic dispute, and on Thursday, he was formally booked with misdemeanor battery and criminal damage to property charges. According to ESPN’s Ian Rapaport, the NFL investigation into his conduct is ongoing, so it’s plausible that he could be suspended under the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.
Jacobs has never previously been arrested on a domestic violence charge, though he was booked for DUI in 2021. According to the NFL’s strengthened Personal Conduct Policy, a first offense for a domestic violence issue carries a six-game suspension, so if Jacobs ultimately gets suspended, the Packers will find themselves thin at the running back position. Emanuel Wilson, who was Green Bay’s backup last season and amassed nearly 600 yards from scrimmage, is now a member of the Seattle Seahawks, and MarShawn Lloyd is now expected to relieve Jacobs.
Lloyd hasn’t played a snap since 2024, when he appeared in one game, turning six carries into 15 yards and catching his only target for a further three yards. He’s also combined for 17 attempts, 53 rushing yards, four catches, 38 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown combined between his three preseasons. In two seasons at South Carolina and one at USC, he took 291 carries for 1,621 yards and 19 scores, adding a further 34 catches, 452 yards, and two touchdowns through the air. Those numbers actually compare somewhat favorably to Jacobs’ during college, but his lack of playing time thus far at the NFL level suggests that he’s unlikely to immediately step into Jacobs’ role. The Packers will likely consider signing a veteran free agent, such as Kareem Hunt or Trey Benson.
Lloyd’s draft range might be too low, but not by much. Currently, his average draft position is 150.8, in the range of other backup running backs like Tank Bigsby and Tyler Allgeier, and presumably, he’ll be a backup running back all season with perhaps a slightly elevated role alongside Hunt or Benson in the first six weeks. The main reason for optimism is Green Bay’s early schedule; only two of its first six opponents ranked among the league’s top half by either opponent fantasy points or PFF run defense grade last season, and only one ranked in the top half by both metrics. I’d bump up his ideal ADP, assuming a Jacobs suspension, to the 120 range, which includes more experienced backup running backs like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Kenneth Gainwell.
