Can Green Bay’s Forgotten RBs Make An Impact?

The Green Bay Packers’ running back depth chart is going to look a bit different in 2026.

The team is set to bring back two of its main backs from last season. Josh Jacobs returns as the starter, and Chris Brooks re-signed on a two-year deal with the team right before the start of free agency. However, they also bid farewell to primary backup Emanuel Wilson.

Green Bay let Wilson walk in free agency, which he did by signing with the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is taking his 326 snaps (31%) with him to Seattle, leaving the Packers without a proven backup RB.

In a perfect world, former third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd would be the team’s answer. However, until he proves he can stay healthy, it would be foolhardy for the team to rely on his presence.

Lloyd is entering his third professional season and has just 10 total snaps to his name. While Lloyd is getting most of the fanfare as the built-in replacement for Wilson, the Packers have two other backs signed to their current roster. With limited draft resources and the free-agency lineup pretty picked over, it got me thinking – would either have a legitimate chance to make the team and help replace the departing Wilson?

Damien Martinez and Pierre Strong Jr. ended the season on Green Bay’s practice squad and are back with the chance to compete this offseason for a role on offense.

Strong is the more experienced of the two backs. The New England Patriots drafted him in the fourth round out of South Dakota State in 2022. However, they traded him to the Cleveland Browns for offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. a year later.

Strong was a regular contributor in Cleveland and played in all but three games in two seasons, logging 399 rushing yards and one touchdown on 89 carries. Still, the Browns waived him coming out of camp with an injury designation, and he would soon thereafter sign with Green Bay’s practice squad. He remained there for the duration of the regular season before signing a reserve/futures contract with the team on January 12.

The Packers called Strong up for Weeks 7 and 15, but he didn’t log any stats. For his career, he has 99 carries for 499 yards (a 5.0 average) with two touchdowns. He has also flashed an ability as a receiver out of the backfield, with 26 career receptions for 193 yards (7.4 average).

However, Strong doesn’t offer much upside given his age. He will turn 28 years old in December, and while he is a fine break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option, Green Bay is likely in the market for someone who can take on a larger offensive role. His good yards per carry and yards per reception suggest maybe he just needs another opportunity, but two teams have moved on from him for a reason.

I could definitely see him playing well in preseason while Jacobs and Brooks rest. Then, the Packers bring him back on the practice squad and call him up in case of an injury to their top three backs.

Unlike Strong, Damien Martinez is a lesser-known prospect. Seattle drafted him in the seventh round last season, and he hasn’t appeared in an NFL game. The Seahawks waived him in the middle of September, and he signed with Green Bay’s practice squad on December 30. Once the season concluded, he signed a futures deal.

The 22-year-old played at Oregon State and the University of Miami, where he was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection and an All-ACC honorable mention during his time in college. In his final college season at Miami, he posted the school’s first 1,000-yard season since 2016.

While he has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game, he saw action in all three of Seattle’s preseason contests, rushing 24 times for 84 yards (3.5 average) with one touchdown. He added 28 receiving yards on four receptions. The Packers got an up-close look at Martinez in the preseason. In the Week 3 finale in Green Bay, he carried seven times for 24 yards and added two receptions. Clearly, the Packers saw something they liked that day – enough to sign him.

Maybe the Packers see a little Josh Jacobs in his game. Jacobs is listed at 5’10”, 226 lbs., and Martinez at 6’0”, 226 lbs. – virtually the same size. Martinez’s scouting report coming out of college sounds Jacobs-like. His strengths are as a strong north-south runner who excels at allowing blocks to develop, reading defenses, and finding running lanes.

Thanks to his strong lower body, he can break tackles, with a substantial amount of his yardage coming after first contact. Like Jacobs, he lacks top-end speed and is subpar in pass protection.

Out of the two, I would guess Martinez has the better chance to stick around for the 2026 season. The Packers love youth and upside, and at four-plus years younger than Strong, Martinez could grow in the system and take a crack at a job again in a year.

The most likely scenario is the Packers add another young back either late in the draft or through undrafted free agency. Then, they’ll have Martinez, Strong, and a rookie compete for that practice squad spot and be the first called up in case disaster strikes. The backup job is MarShawn Lloyd’s to lose – for better or worse.