In 2025, the Green Bay Packers operated a rush-centric offense on their way to a playoff berth, attempting the seventh-most carries in the league and finishing with the 11th-most scores. Josh Jacobs managed more than 1,200 yards from scrimmage, and Emanuel Wilson turned his success in relief into a full-time starting role with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks this season (at least until Zach Charbonnet returns from the torn ACL that he suffered during the playoffs).
This season, Green Bay has been the worst rushing attack in the league by virtually all metrics, as none of its three backs (Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd, and Kaleb Johnson) has been particularly effective, combining for just one total score. To make matters worse, Brooks sustained an ankle injury in the Packers’ Week 4 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn’t practice on Wednesday, according to The Athletic‘s Matt Schneidman.
Brooks’ injury could open up an opportunity for Green Bay’s other running backs, including Lloyd and Johnson. Neither has been fantasy-viable this season, but a hit to the running back committee’s depth could allow one to shine as a potential option.
Results and Usage
So far, Lloyd has been the most active of the three, taking 30 carries to Johnson’s 20 and Brooks’ 15 and garnering 11 targets to Brooks’ five and Johnson’s three. He’s also the only one to find the end zone, catching a six-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love in the second quarter of the Week 2 win over the New York Jets. However, Lloyd has been so inefficient (2.7 yards per carry, the worst mark among 48 qualified running backs) that he’s managed only one more rushing yard than Johnson and 11 more than Brooks. Each of the three has an identical 40% success rate, and all three have only seen frequent usage in early-down situations.
The running backs’ advanced numbers are truly atrocious. By Pro Football Focus’ standards, there have been 62 qualified running backs this season, and the Packers trio ranks 57th (Brooks), 58th (Lloyd), and 60th (Johnson) by offensive grades. Only Lloyd has taken enough carries to qualify for the NFL’s Next Gen Stats leaderboard, which has a minimum threshold of 25 attempts, but he ranks dead last in rushing yards per attempt over expectation despite facing stacked boxes at the seventh-lowest rate. Of the three, I’m most bullish on Johnson in the long run, since he has the highest elusiveness score, highest breakaway rate, most missed tackles forced per run, and the best receiving and pass-blocking grades, but the bar is extremely low.
Future Outlook
Regardless of Brooks’ availability, Green Bay can’t expect to get its running game back on track without Jacobs. During the offseason, Jacobs was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after being arrested for a domestic violence incident, and there has since been no update as to when a decision on his suspension might be made. The Packers also can’t expect their offensive line, which has been among the worst in the league this season, to get significantly better. Zach Bako-Bewele, their right tackle, was their best run-blocker last season, but he suffered a torn patellar tendon in September and will miss the remainder of the campaign.
As a result of its running back struggles, Green Bay has completely turned away from the run, attempting the fewest rushes and the seventh-most passes in the league. That hasn’t exactly been a winning strategy, because quarterback Jordan Love has struggled mightily and the Packers have scored the fifth-fewest points in the league, but they might not have any better alternative. Green Bay’s porous offensive line could force Love to dump it off to the running backs in the passing game, but Brooks’ drops and Johnson’s fumbling issues make that an unappealing proposition. Neither has been particularly good at breaking tackles, either, although Johnson is the biggest.
In Brooks’ absence, Johnson might be fantasy-viable against the most vulnerable defense against opposing running backs, but the Packers’ Week 5 opponent, the Chicago Bears, aren’t that. Chicago has given up 12 or fewer points in each of the last three weeks, albeit against relatively weak opposition, and it has conceded the 10th-fewest FPTS per game to opposing running backs. Not all metrics love the Bears — they’ve given up the fourth-most yards per attempt and rank fifth-to-last by Expected Points Added on rushing plays and dead last by PFF’s run defense grades — but their offense has been extremely effective, keeping the ball out of opponents’ hands and forcing opposing quarterbacks to throw. Johnson, Brooks, and Lloyd should all remain benched.
