Pierre Strong was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft after an incredible final season at South Dakota State, when he carried the football 240 times for 1686 yards and 18 touchdowns. In his draft guide, The Beast, Dane Brugler had him as a likely fifth rounder praising his vision and speed, though Brugler emphasized his lack of size and an issue with fumbling (partially due to small-ish hands).
Strong was traded to the Browns after his first season, and his his workload
slightly increased from 10 carries as a rookie to 63. During his Cleveland stint, Strong mostly served as a passing downs specialist while averaging a respectable 4.5 yards per carry and 8 yards per reception, and there’s definitely some big play ability and elite agility in his repertoire. This was on display in last week’s preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos; while wearing green and gold, Strong averaged 4.6 yards per carry on eight carries and ripped off a 68-yard kickoff return.
I actually like Strong better than Marshawn Lloyd as both represent the potential “lightning” to Josh Jacobs’ thunder, and while Lloyd is quite a bit larger, Strong is the better athlete, and despite his small size, he’s been more durable.
The Josh Jacobs problem
Matt LaFleur may be a very successful offensive football coach, but I still think he runs the ball too much. I don’t mind running the ball, and in 2024 when Josh Jacobs was ripping off 4.4 yards per carry and scoring 15 touchdowns, it was mostly fine. Unfortunately, since that time the Packers’ offensive line has declined as a run-blocking unit, and it’s possible that seven years of physical punishment has started to wear on Jacobs. And now, with Jacobs charged with assault and a pretty nasty video tape of the incident allegedly out there, there is an opportunity for the team to move on from Jacobs before he falls off a cliff (and also to get an alleged abuser off the team).
Back in 2022 Josh Jacobs led the league in rushing yards with 1653, and was also elite in exceeding his expected rushing total. The NFL’s NextGenStats page has a series of metrics which tracks how many more yards a back gains than expected based on the blocking on the play, the quality of the opponent, and several other factors. (This advanced metric was born out of the NFL’s Big Data Bowl contest in 2020)
Jacobs gained 0.47 yards over expected per attempt that year, which ranked 11th among qualifiers. That may not sound overly impressive, but maintaining that level of production of his robust total of 340 carries is impressive. Of the ten backs that ranked higher, only Cleveland’s Nick Chubb was even in the ballpark with 302 carries.
Jacobs plummeted the following year due to injuries that caused him to miss four games, but he rebounded nicely in 2024 in his inaugural Packer season with 0.73 yards over expected per attempt, which tied him in tenth with teammate Emanuel Wilson. In 2025 Jacobs also suffered some injuries, and once again fell to -0.03 yards over expected.
It’s possible that this is just a matter of health, and that after an offseason of rest and recovery he would be back to his old self again. But, running back is a young man’s game, Jacobs is expensive for a running back, and Jacobs turned 28 in February. He also uses a punishing running style and he has exceeded 200 carries in every season of his career (and 300 twice). He is not a great bet to age gracefully, and weird, bad offseasons don’t help.
Committee Time
While I’m not a huge fan of Marshawn Lloyd, a committee of Strong, Lloyd, and Chris Brooks would probably be fine. Brooks is an outstanding blocking back and a good enough receiver. He’s very useful and he’s capable of rattling off 5 yards a carry against light boxes while keeping your QB upright. I love Chris Brooks as a player, just not at 200 carries.
In the unlikely event the Packers did move on from Jacobs, I could see the case for bringing in another power back, but even if they didn’t, they could probably get by with Lloyd/Strong/Brooks just fine, and with one additional hidden benefit. Matt LaFleur would be somewhat likely to run less without a proven workhorse, and so the number of passes the team throws would likely increase. Given that Jacobs isn’t what he once was anyway, this could actually provide a massive benefit to the team.
Jacobs is one of Matt’s favorite toys, but it’s not working so well anymore. The remaining running backs have enough combined skills to make up for most of what Jacobs does at this point in his career. I don’t think they will move on, but if there really is a video out there, they’re playing with fire for no good reason. Use tonight’s game to check out the backups.
