Will Rookie Marshawn Lloyd Hit the Ground Running in 2024?
The 2024 Marshawn Lloyd Season Odds To Be Impacted by Arrival of Josh Jacobs
Can former USC Running Back Marshawn Lloyd Earn The No. 2 RB Spot As A Rookie?
The 2024 NFL Draft was not one for the record books at the running back position, with no running backs being taken in the first round. Some viewed Southern California’s Marshawn Lloyd as the best running back in the draft, but he fell into the third round, and the 2024 Marshawn Lloyd season odds are a bit on the conservative side of things.
Lloyd played at South Carolina and scored 12 touchdowns in two seasons before transferring to the other USC. Despite not playing in two of the last four games, Lloyd was USC’s leading rusher.
Now he is a member of the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay is fifth at +800 in the odds of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl. The Packers (+200) trail only the Detroit Lions in the odds of winning the NFC North Division title.
The Packers are priced at -160 to make the playoffs with +130 odds to miss the playoff after reaching the postseason four times in the last five seasons.
- The Super Bowl odds have Green Bay tied for ninth at +1800 in the odds of winning the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2010 season.
Coming off a 9-8 regular-season record in 2023, the Packers have -140 odds to go over 9.5 wins during the regular season.
Can Lloyd Add A Chapter to USC’s Running Back Legacy?
There was a time when USC was the destination of choice of Tennessee Titans before Ronald Jones was a second-round pick by Tampa Bay in 2018.
Chauncey Washington, Joe McKnight, Allen Bradford, Stanley Havili, Javorius Allen, and Keaontay Ingram are other running backs taken by USC during that stretch.
Can Lloyd reverse the trend of former USC running backs underperforming in the NFL?
- Lloyd has +6000 odds of winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He will be a popular pick in the fantasy football drafts even if the 2024 Marshawn Lloyd season odds could be adjusted by how things go in the first couple of games.
Green Bay is coming off a season when the Packers ranked 15th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Will Lloyd and the Packers be a more productive rushing team in 2024?
Crowded Backfield in Title Town
There has been movement at the running back position in Green Bay.
Aaron Jones, who rushed for more than 1000 yards in three of his seven seasons with the Packers, now plays for NFC North Division rival Minnesota.
Green Bay signed 2022 NFL rushing champion Josh Jacobs, a two-time Las Vegas Raiders.
AJ Dillon, a second-round pick by the Packers out of Boston College by the Packers in 2020, is another running back who figures into the rotation in the Green Bay backfield.
Jacobs has the seventh-shortest odds at +1400 to lead the NFL in rushing yards during the 2024 season. That will certainly impact the potential for Lloyd as a rookie and play a role in the NFL player props for the rookie back.
It seems unlikely that Lloyd will beat out Jacobs for the starting job in Green Bay, but perhaps he could earn the No. 2 job.
What to Expect From Lloyd
Former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah had Lloyd rated as the top running back available in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, Texas’ Jonathan Brooks, Florida State‘s Trey Benson, and Michigan’s Blake Corum were off the board by the time the Packers took Lloyd with the 88th overall selection.
His time of 4.46 in the 40-yard dash, 36-inch vertical leap, and broad jump of 9-10 placed him in the top 10 among running backs at the NFL scouting combine.
In the -first USC offense, Lloyd didn’t have more than 17 carries in the 11 games he played for the Trojans. He averaged 17.9 yards on his 13 catches at USC, so perhaps that could come into play with Jordan Love, who is set for his second season as the starting quarterback for the Packers.
Lloyd had 72 yards on three catches in a wild 50-49 win over California and 75 yards on three receptions versus rival South Carolina.
Lloyd had scoring runs in six of the eight games he played against Pac-12 teams. He rushed for 115 yards and two scores versus California and 154 yards against Arizona State.
Tough 2024 Schedule To Navigate
Beginning with a season-opening game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 in the home opener for the Packers.
There are 11 games against teams that ranked in the top 10 in rushing defense during the 2023 season so it remains to be seen how that will impact the 2024 Marshawn Lloyd season odds.
The Packers used their first-round pick on Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan so perhaps one former Pac-12 product can open holes for another.
Green Bay begins the preseason against the Baltimore Ravens.
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