2024 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Marshawn Lloyd, RB USC
Every year, someone shines at the Senior Bowl and forces the dynasty community to take a deeper look at their college career. MarShawn Lloyd had an outstanding week in Mobile, Alabama, and since then the world of fantasy football has been buzzing with his name. He was the Senior Bowl Practice Player of the Week among National Team running backs, but does his skill translate to the playing field?
Recruitment
Image courtesy of 247 Sports.
Lloyd played high school ball at the prestigious DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland. The list of notable alumni from DeMatha is loaded with NFL talent, including fantasy football legend Brian Westbrook. Lloyd was born and raised in Delaware, and even lived there when attending DeMatha, despite over four hours of commuting every day.
He was a four-star recruit in the 2020 class and played in the Under Armour All-American game. He was ranked by 247 Sports as the number eight running back recruit in the country, behind Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Tank Bigsby, but ahead of Trey Benson and Blake Corum.
Lloyd received several FBS offers, and chose to go to South Carolina out of high school. He transferred to “the other USC” after the 2022 season.
Collegiate Career
Image courtesy of College Football Reference.
Lloyd was forced to redshirt his freshman year in Columbia while he was recovering from a torn ACL. He finally made his Gamecock debut in 2021, rushing for a measly 228 yards on 64 attempts (3.6 yards per attempt).
Thankfully, once he got the starting job in 2022, he started to run like a future NFL player. He increased his YPA from 3.6 to 5.2 and found pay-dirt a career-high 11 times (including two in the passing game).
Lloyd entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season and moved west to join Caleb Williams in Los Angeles. He was the third-ranked running back transfer in the 2022 portal.
On one of the top offenses in college football last season, Lloyd ran for 820 yards (7.1 YPA) and added 232 yards through the air on just 13 catches (17.8 YPC). He was number two in the PAC-12 in yards per attempt last season and eighth in rushing yards.
On tape, we see his explosive running ability. Once he gets some space, he kicks on the burners and makes quick cuts to make defenders miss. One of his bigger weaknesses on film comes at the line of scrimmage, where he can often be caught waiting too long for a hole to open up for him. He also struggles with ball security. He put the ball on the carpet four times last season and has been criticized for letting the ball get too far away from his body.
Lloyd decided to go pro despite another year of eligibility available. He was invited to the Senior Bowl where he was voted one of the Practice Players of the Week. His pass-catching ability was especially on display in Mobile.
USC RB MarShawn Lloyd (@m_lloyd_2) made several attention-grabbing plays on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl. He’s making a name for himself in a wide open RB class. #NFLDrafthttps://t.co/SRG2EaKRww pic.twitter.com/EQKibR5DQq
— Jaime Eisner (@JaimeEisner) January 31, 2024
Strengths
- Quick, active feet
- Powers through and over contact
- Speed and burst through the hole
- Could potentially be a better pass-catcher than he showed in college
- Solid in pass protection
- High-IQ
- Ability to string together cuts and moves to make multiple players miss
Weaknesses
- Undersized
- Ball security issues
- Average vision when searching for the crease
- Injuries have kept him off the field throughout his college career
Draft Value
Image courtesy of NFL Mock Draft Database.
Lloyd’s draft value has increased in the pre-draft process, thanks in most part to his successful week of Senior Bowl practices. Despite that, he is still unlikely to be picked in the top 100.
Rookie RB Marshawn Lloyd says his elusiveness and difficulty to tackle sets him apart.
He’s ranked as our rookie RB8, ADP of RB52 —>https://t.co/hddvXEEDNB pic.twitter.com/CUXBPPrhqN
— DLF (@DLFootball) March 1, 2024
No matter where he is drafted, Lloyd is unlikely to be the opening-week starter or a bell-cow back in his rookie season. He’ll likely be a day three pick, but running backs can absolutely be successful from the middle rounds. Lloyd’s pass-catching ability could help him find his way on the field quickly. There are several teams around the league that could absolutely use a player like him. Some recent mock drafts have him going to the Bears, Texans and Vikings, all of whom would benefit from a back like Lloyd.
Dynasty Outlook
This certainly isn’t a top-heavy running back class, but there is a nice group of rookie backs coming in who could have plenty of dynasty fantasy football value, especially if the marriage of draft capital and landing spot is a beautiful one. Lloyd is absolutely one of those backs.
The DLF Rankers have Lloyd ranked as RB9, 31st overall off the board. I love the value of Lloyd as a mid-third-round pick, but I doubt that is where he will end up going once the NFL Draft happens. In fact, in Ryan McDowell’s February Rookie ADP, Lloyd is right on the edge of the second round in drafts. According to the ADP, he is the number six running back and the 26th player overall. In one draft, he was the third running back drafted with the 17th overall pick. Opinions on these rookies are all over the place and the Combine, Pro Days and NFL Draft will have a huge impact on the rankings in May.
Lloyd is one of my early favorites in this group of running backs. Once Jonathan Brooks, Braelon Allen and Trey Benson are off the board, I’m seriously considering taking Lloyd as the fourth running back in this class, and that opinion could absolutely grow in the coming weeks. There has been plenty of buzz on X to move Lloyd all the way up to the RB1 in this class. I won’t get that high, but I’m impressed with Lloyd’s game and look forward to a bright future for him in the NFL.
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