I know that it is Bears week, and there’s plentiful amounts of online and in person trash talk to distract us from fringe roster moves! But let’s not allow ourselves to be too distracted from what I see as potentially huge news for our team. This week, the Green Bay Packers opened Return From IR practice windows for 3 players, DE Collin Oliver, RB Marshawn Lloyd and DE Brenton Cox. Then within the next 48 hours the Packers signed DT Jordon Riley off the Giants practice squad and were awarded DT Quinton Bohanna on waivers after the Seahawks released him. I can’t wait to share my thoughts on each of these players, but let’s just start with this. Reinforcements are incoming!
This time of year, team depth plays as large a role in determining overall success as almost any other factor. No team escapes injuries, but the great teams circumvent them. The 2025 Green Bay Packers have continually been a case study of this concept. Brian Gutekunst has crafted a roster truly capable of flexing their “depth muscles” on any given Sunday. Seriously think for a second where this team might be without the contributions of players like Emmanuel Wilson, John Fitzpatrick, Darian Kinnard, Anthony Belton, Malik Willis, Lukas Havrisik, Warren Brinson, Isaiah McDuffie, Carrington Valentine and Kingsley Enagbare. These players have combined to make a massive impact this season and swing outcomes of games. They served as meaningful reinforcements to a team that needed it.
This brings me to our list of most recent reinforcements added by the Packers. I’m going to dive into each player, where they fit, and what type of contributions we can expect from them.
Marshawn Lloyd – RB
Those who have kept up on my writing know that I am the world’s biggest Marshawn Lloyd truther. He was one of my biggest draft crushes in 2024, and I was ecstatic when the Packers ended up picking him.
The term gets thrown around far too often in the sports world, but I really do view Lloyd as a “freak athlete.” Lloyd is well built at 5’8” 220lbs, but he moves far better than any man his size should. He can beat tacklers in multiple ways because of his freaky athleticism. His strength and thicker build allows him to occasionally run through defenders at the second level, but his elusiveness in space is what truly makes him special.
If I am a linebacker or safety, having to tackle Marshawn Lloyd in space would keep me up at night. Lloyd’s tape in college is littered with visuals of him finding space, making one hard cut and just dusting linebackers. The numbers show it too. Lloyd averaged 7.1 yards per carry for USC in 2023 and led the nation in missed tackles forced by a running back.
So, long story short, it is more than fair to get overly excited about the return of Marshawn Lloyd. Provided he can stay on the field, Lloyd will offer the ideal change of pace back to Josh Jacobs. It is unlikely that Lloyd will work in short yardage or pass protection roles, but if you give him 5-8 touches a game, he’ll add noticeable explosiveness to the Packers run game. You heard it here first, Marshawn Lloyd will make a real impact down the stretch this season.
Collin Oliver – DE/OLB
As far as day 3 defensive line prospects go, Oliver was as tantalizing as they come. Oliver was a 4 year starter at Oklahoma State, and was easily the best player on their defense. Notably, he started every game as an 18 year old true freshman, and tallied 11.5 sacks that season. Oliver never quite reached that level of production again at OSU due to untimely injuries and position changes. Oliver played more of an off ball linebacker role as an upperclassman and didn’t get as many pass rush snaps.
Oliver was left on the board so late largely due to his struggles defending the run. He’s a smaller player who will struggle to hold the point of attack on early downs. However, he does bring some real juice when rushing the passer. Earlier this spring I wrote about Oliver:
The Packers have typically drafted defensive lineman with a philosophy that they need to be powerful and they need to be all around players. Gutey has had little interest in niche guys who just rush the passer and don’t play the run. Think about the guys that have been brought in since Gutey got the job. Zadarius, Preston, Rashan Gary, LVN, Brenton Cox, and even Barryn Sorrell. Every single one of these guys fits that power mold. Oliver on the other hand is the exact opposite of that. He’s not a good run defender, he’ll get washed out at the point of the block. If even a TE can get good hands on him he will struggle to get off that block, and he’ll rarely win with a powerful bull rush into the chest of the tackle. But good heavens this dude has pure lightning speed. He wins around the edge with quickness and agility in a way we haven’t seen in a long time. I’d bet good money that Hafley got tired of watching his pass rushers need 2.5 seconds to drive the tackle back into the QB on 3rd and 6, and told Gutey to get him someone who could actually get to the passer quick enough to combat quick passing games.
It’s worth noting that Oliver missed the entire offseason program with injuries. This means that this week was legitimately his first time ever practicing as a Green Bay Packer. So, I would say there is a real chance Oliver never gets activated in 2025. He may take his three weeks of practice and get put right back on IR. This means 2025 could effectively be a redshirt season for him.
Even if that does happen, don’t rule out Oliver making an impact in 2026. Pairing a speed rusher like Oliver with Micah Parsons in cheetah package looks is something that I would really like to see happen.
Brenton Cox – DE
Cox injured his groin in week 1 this year and hasn’t been seen since. He was able to play only 8 snaps in that game. So, let’s look back at what Cox was able to do last season.
Per PFF, Brenton Cox had a pass rush win rate of 23.1% on true pass sets in 2024. I understand the sample size was limited, but that was by far the best rate of any DE on the team last year. Rashan Gary came in second with a 17% win rate on true pass sets.
The defensive end room is crowded at the moment. Parsons is here, Enagbare is playing his best football, and Sorrel is starting to find his way. But, with LVN still in a walking boot and Rashan Gary continuing to struggle, there is a way for Cox to earn some playing time.
I wouldn’t expect major contributions from Cox this season, but you can never have too much depth on the defensive line.
Quinton Bohanna – DT
Standing at 6’4” and weighing 360lbs, Bohanna is an absolute monster. The production however hasn’t necessarily matched his size. Bohanna played over 200 snaps in his first two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and graded quite poorly. PFF gave him a 30.5 and 41.1 overall defense grade in each of those seasons. Both of those numbers are well below average.
Since then, Bohanna has played for 3 different teams and has averaged no more than 50 snaps per season. He has yet to record his first career sack and has tallied only 7 pressures in his career.
It’s interesting to note how different Bohanna is as a player when compared to Devonte Wyatt. Bohanna has zero pass rush juice and exists as a space eating run defender. To me that means that the Green Bay Packers feel comfortable with Karl Brooks and Warren Brinson as the 3 technique defensive tackles going forward. Bohanna is likely brought in to compete with Nazir Stackhouse and play backup nose tackle reps.
At best I would expect him to carve out a role as a situational defensive tackle who takes snaps in short yardage situations.
Jordon Riley – DT
Another big defensive tackle who was on a practice squad for a reason. Riley has played significant snaps in each of his first two seasons in the NFL, and he never earned a run defense grade higher than 32.3. Now I understand that PFF grades are not a perfect measure of a player, but that grade is poor enough to clearly convey the message.
While Riley is a big man at 6’2” 325, he has struggled with consistency in the NFL. Here’s the catch though, Riley has shown real flashes, especially earlier in his career.
This would be a great opportunity for new defensive line coach Demarcus Covington to make his money. GM Brian Gutekunst just set him up with 2 new defensive linemen overflowing with physical traits, and the team has a real need for contributions from them. Any chance Covington could help turn one of these new defensive tackles into this year’s version of Howard Green?
In closing, depth is so important in this league. Especially this time of year. The Green Bay Packers were already deep, but a team can never be deep enough. More injuries will inevitably come as the season wears on and the team will need to be ready to respond. Don’t discount how these newcomers could help the 2025 team down the stretch. It’s going to be all hands on deck if the Packers want to make a run to the Super Bowl, and these guys should be more than ready to lend a hand.
The post Reinforcements are Incoming for the Green Bay Packers first appeared on PackersTalk.com Blog Posts and Podcasts.