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MarShawn Lloyd headshot

Overview

Lloyd's flashes on tape could lead a team to envision a more expansive role for him in its offense, but based on his play, he feels more like a good complementary option with big-play potential. Frankly, some of his South Carolina tape from 2022 felt more exciting than his 2023 USC film, despite the higher yardage-per-carry mark in 2023. While he ran with improved patience and set up blockers more diligently in '23, he ran with a greater sense of urgency the year prior and proved he could create explosive plays without as much help from his offensive line. Lloyd runs with slightly below-average vision but has the juice to play the role of "chunk-play slasher" and dangerous open-field pass catcher. Lloyd is a low-mileage prospect, and the scope of his role will obviously depend on scheme fit.

Strengths

  • Displayed improved tempo and ability to set up blocks in 2023.
  • Marries NFL-caliber burst with adequate contact pop to fall forward.
  • Twitchy feet and wide base, allowing access to sudden lateral cuts.
  • Uses burst and free hand to swat away angle tackles around the corner.
  • Possesses natural timing in making upfield cuts on wide-flowing runs.
  • Speed and shake to torment open-field tacklers as a pass-catching option.

Weaknesses

  • Will miss opportunities for splashy runs due to average vision.
  • Running style was less instinctive and urgent at USC than it was at South Carolina.
  • Ball security could be a considerable concern for him in the league.
  • Tore his ACL in 2020 and missed time in 2022 and 2023.
  • Lacks sand in his pants to protect his quarterback in blitz pickup.

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Last edited by Boris
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From The Ringer:  

HEIGHT 5'9"

WEIGHT 220
YEAR SENIOR
AGE 23.3

COMPACT AND VERSATILE SPARK-PLUG BACK with quick feet and plenty of elusiveness; brings the potential to expand his role in the passing game.

  • Short-Area Quicknessbadge
    Short-Area Quickness
  • Smooth Footworkbadge
    Smooth Footwork
  • Instinctual Playmakingbadge
    Instinctual Playmaking
SCOUTING REPORT BY DANNY KELLY

Lloyd is built like a fire hydrant, sporting a thick, muscular frame. A transfer to USC from South Carolina, the Trojans standout is quick and explosive, running with a low center of gravity and excellent contact balance. He’s extremely elusive and racked up 47 missed tackles forced on just 115 carries in 2023 (an elite rate), adding another 10 missed tackles forced on 13 receptions, per PFF. He showed the burst and acceleration to get to the corner and beat pursuit angles, and he used hesitation moves and jump cuts to make opponents whiff at the second level. Lloyd runs with a good feel for tempo and pace, waiting for his blocks to set up before picking the right moment to cut downhill or break to the outside. He’s a tough inside runner who churns and jukes and spins his way to extra yards. He wasn’t deployed as a pass catcher all that much in college (just 31 catches in the past two seasons), but he does flash some high-level pass-catching ability—and he impressed in that area at the Senior Bowl. Lloyd has some real juice as a runner and showed off his explosive traits at the combine, running a 4.46-second 40-yard dash (giving him an 85th percentile speed score) while adding a 36-inch vertical jump.

Lloyd’s pass-blocking needs work. The effort is there, but he doesn’t consistently drop an anchor in the face of an oncoming rusher and will get knocked back in the pocket at times. He fumbled four times in 2023, losing three of them. He’s never carried a big workload, averaging 12.3 carries per game in 2022 for South Carolina and just 10.5 carries per game for the Trojans last year.

WHY HE COULD RISE

Lloyd is a highly elusive, big-play back who flashes talent as a pass catcher; he’s a creator who brings the potential to play on all three downs.

WHY HE COULD FALL

He’s never carried a heavy workload and is relatively unproven in the passing game; he has had some ball-security issues.

BACKGROUND AND STATS BY DANIEL COMER
  • A redshirt junior and former four-star prospect out of Hyattsville, Maryland. Was the fifth-ranked running back in his recruitment class and the no. 43 player overall. Spent his first three college seasons with South Carolina before transferring to USC in 2023.
  • Suffered a torn ACL (left knee) on the second day of fall camp during his true freshman year at South Carolina in 2020 but played in all 12 games as a reserve for the Gamecocks in 2021.
  • Became South Carolina’s starting running back in 2022 and finished the season with 573 rushing yards (5.2 per attempt), nine rushing touchdowns, 176 receiving yards, and two touchdown catches. He missed three of South Carolina’s final four regular-season games due to a quad contusion.
  • Was Southern California’s leading running back during his first and only season with the Trojans. Lloyd finished the 2023 campaign with 820 rushing yards (7.1 per carry) and nine rushing touchdowns, as well as 232 receiving yards on 13 catches.
Last edited by ilcuqui

Aside from his ACL tear his freshman year, dude has been an absolute workhorse...and his best work on film came well after he recovered from the ACL. Was likley a non-issue for Packers medical staff.

This is his total injury history...

Aug 19, 2020 Non-NFL Knee ACL Tear Grade 3 - Lloyd went down in practice.

Oct 29, 2022 Non-NFL Leg Thigh Bruise - Lloyd missed three games with a "deep" thigh contusion, per The Athletic's Dane Brugler.

@Chongo posted:

From my guy at USC...

"Marsh is the real deal. We under-used him. There are guys who run faster 40's, but no one ever caught him from behind in games. He has the one thing that matters...football speed."

This is the first thing that jumps out on the tape. Once he gets into open space he's gone, nobody can catch him.  He doesn't even look like he's running that fast but he's torching the DBs.  He certainly plays faster than whatever his 40 time was.

Last edited by vitaflo

I've seen some people on the Twitters bitching the Packers too the wrong RB with Jaylen Wright still there...

I would say this...

Lloyd was the 4th RB taken off the board...and one of those RB, Corum, was never going to be a Packer. So that tells me the Packers had Lloyd very highly rated.

Also, it's day 3, Wright is still on the board. There is a reason why, we are all likely not privy to. A kid that size and that speed to still be on the board on day 3 says something.

Lloyd will have to prove himself better at blocking and catching out of the backfield before GB lets go of Dillon. I still think Dillon can be a good player if they move him around to block and send him out to make more catches, like an H back. That's where I think he'll prove to be pretty darn good. They could bounce Wilson on and off the PS if they don't want to expose Lloyd.

"Also, it's day 3, Wright is still on the board. There is a reason why, we are all likely not privy to. A kid that size and that speed to still be on the board on day 3 says something."

I recently read that Wright was not a great pass catcher, out of the backfield. That may be why he fell. I'll bet Gute had Dylan Laube, from New Hampshire, higher on his RB board than Wright was.

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