Latest news on Josh Jacobs and Fantasy Football Potential for Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd & Packers

The running back news in the NFL just keeps coming as Packers All-Pro RB Josh Jacobs finds himself in legal trouble.

This has huge implications for fantasy football, as Jacobs is currently the RB13 in our consensus half-PPR fantasy football rankings. With little experience behind him in the Packers’ backfield, the situation creates a lot of uncertainty.

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Latest news about Josh Jacobs

It was reported Tuesday evening (May 26) that Josh Jacobs was arrested on five separate charges. With the news being so fresh, without tangible information we can only speculate about what will happen.

What we do know is that Jacobs showed a slight decline last season compared to his first with the Packers.

Still, the Packers remain a run-first unit and rank 28th in dropback rate (58%), good for a dropback rate of -2% above expected (22nd). Because Jacobs has been so durable over his first two seasons with the Packers — he’s only missed two of 34 games — we haven’t gotten much attention on the pieces behind him.

That said, if Jacobs gets any discipline from the NFL, we will get that exposure and want to be ahead of the curve.

Fantasy football prospects for Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd and the rest of the Packers

With Emanuel Wilson out of the picture, the Packers are left with two players who haven’t seen much action.

Chris Brooks reached the top last season (week 18) with a 46% share and only had 7 games in which he even recorded a carry. Currently at RB87 in our rankings, he would likely see an astronomical jump in both the rankings and projection (assuming the Packers don’t bring in anyone from outside). His fantasy football ADP on Underdog is sure to pick up steam as well. While it makes sense to acquire your shares, be wary of paying too much for someone with such a small sample size to work with.

And if you thought it was hard to read Brooks, it might be even harder with MarShawn Lloyd (RB88). In his two full NFL seasons, he has played in one game. Yes, one. 6 rushing attempts for 15 yards, that’s Lloyd’s NFL resume, which is somehow shorter than his injury history (via DraftSharks).

Lloyd did have some promise in the NFL, as he was a steady riser during the pre-draft process, testing well at the NFL Combine and ultimately finishing as a third-round pick. In his final collegiate season, Lloyd ranked in the top 10 in the nation in yards per carry, elusive rush percentage and breakaway rush percentage among all RBs with at least 50 rush attempts.

Lloyd feels like the clear positive bet in this backfield, but feels almost impossible to trust. In any case, I feel like it’s much more likely the Packers will bring in someone who isn’t currently on the roster if Jacobs is missing at some point.

Jacobs’ biggest upgrade to possibly ever miss would easily be Jordan Love, as the Packers would likely transition from a run-heavy team to a more balanced or pass-heavy team. This in turn would boost the pass catchers in Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden. It’s also important to remember Reed’s abilities in the backfield. If Jacobs misses time, it’s not out of the question that Reed could take on a more important Deebo Samuel role in the offense.

Potential RB targets for Packers in trade and free agency

Again, nothing here is assumed, and everything is pure speculation. We have no idea what will happen with Jacobs, but if he were to miss time, I have a hard time believing the Packers roll into 2026 with Brooks and Lloyd as their key backfield pieces. On top of the lack of depth at the position, Jacob’s dead cap hit would be just $6.2 million if the Packers opted to cut him, while he currently has a cap hit of $14.5 million. Below are five names that could emerge as potential targets if Green Bay is reported to be active in the RB market.

• Trey Benson/James Conner: These two seem obvious, as they are now buried on the Cardinals depth chart behind newly acquired free agent Tyler Allgeier and rookie phenom Jeremiyah Love. Additionally, the Jonathan Gannon connection in Green Bay could make this potential deal seem like low-hanging fruit for both teams.
• Alvin Kamara: Although Kamara is believed to want to play out his career in New Orleans, the team signs Travis Etienne in free agency and recent comments from the front office leaves much doubt in my mind that he will remain a saint. For a Packers team already considered an NFC contender, Kamara could be a good addition as he enters the sunset phase of his career.
• Isaac Guerendo: Seemingly out of the mix in San Francisco after they drafted Kaelon Black last month and with Jordan James remaining in town behind Christian McCaffrey, Guerendo could be a target to return to Wisconsin State after showing explosive upside in college with the Badgers.
• Naje Harris: Look, dude. He is a free-agent running back with multiple 1,000-yard seasons under his belt. I never said all options were beautiful.

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