GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Edgerrin Cooper was at the top of almost every list that ranked inside linebackers in the 2024 NFL draft. MarShawn Lloyd thought he should have been in the same spot among the running backs.
If an NFL team is lucky, it might get one such player who fits into that category in a single draft.
The Packers landed two of them -- that's if you believe Lloyd and at least one national draft expert.
While the USC running back was actually the fourth back taken in the draft when Green Bay picked him in the third round (No. 88 overall), the 5-foot-9, 220-pound Lloyd made it clear what he thought of that.
"I'm the best running back in the draft, for sure," Lloyd said. "And I think Green Bay got the best running back in the draft because they think the exact same. I'm super confident with that."
That comment came just minutes after analyst Daniel Jeremiah called Lloyd the best running back in the draft on NFL Network's draft broadcast.
"That's going to come up in the next few years, exactly what he says," Lloyd said. "I definitely do feel like he's telling the truth on that part."
The Packers' backfield will have a much different look with Josh Jacobs, who got a $12.5 million signing bonus in free agency after Aaron Jones was released, and Lloyd. AJ Dillon also returned on a one-year deal.
Lloyd was a tackle-breaking machine at USC last season, when he broke or evaded 55 tackles (second most in the Pac-12 last season). Over the past two seasons, which includes time at South Carolina, he broke or evaded 94 tackles (seventh most among all Power 5 backs).
"He's packed in a tighter frame, but [we] like his ability kinda to make people miss," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said. "He's got a little juice to him. He's 220 pounds. He breaks tackles. We think his best football's ahead of him, and we're really excited to get him as well."
There was little debate about Cooper, who at No. 45 overall, was the first inside linebacker selected. Before the draft, he was No. 1 on positional rankings from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates.
"Cooper, the speed that he brings to the table at the linebacker position," Gutekunst said, "is rare."
At the combine, Cooper's 4.51-second 40-yard dash tied for the fifth-best time among all front-seven defenders who ran this year.
The plan is for Cooper and Quay Walker to be key parts of the switch to a 4-3 scheme under new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Isaiah McDuffie figures to be the third linebacker.
"That was something I always thought of, playing with another fast linebacker," Cooper said. "I feel like it will give us the defense [that is] able to go sideline to sideline, having two weapons on the field like that. I feel like it could be very dangerous."
A case could be made that the Packers landed the top safety in the draft as well, when they picked Georgia's Javon Bullard in the second round (No. 58 overall). Kiper ranked Bullard as his No. 1 safety before the draft. Only one safety, Minnesota's Tyler Nubin (at No. 47 to the Giants), came off the board before Bullard.
At the Senior Bowl, Bullard was named the top safety on the American team. The Packers also got the top safety from the National team when they took Oregon's Evan Williams in the fourth round (No. 111 overall).
"I don't think it happens very often where you're taking the top player in your board at that position a bunch of times in a draft," Gutekunst said. "That's just hard unless you've got a ridiculous amount of picks up top. There are some positions that traditionally aren't taken in the first round that I have a better chance to do that than others. But to me, it's just about kind of following your board."