Josh Jacobs, one of the two free agent splashes the Green Bay Packers made this summer, will assume the role of lead back in what could be an explosive attack.
It goes without saying that Jacobs will be compared to Aaron Jones, the now-former Packers running back who was cut the day he signed. As of right moment, Jones is in Minnesota.
Despite the superficial similarities, Jacobs has no intention of attempting to “replace” Jones. Rather, Jacobs’ goal is to continue Jones’ legacy while doing it in a way that best suits his style and Matt LaFleur’s offensive scheme.
When Jacobs spoke with reporters in the Packers’ locker room on Friday, he stated, “I actually know Aaron.” “I already know how he is as a guy. Fantastic guy, and based only on his accomplishments during his tenure, he’s undoubtedly a legend here. I don’t really see myself taking over for him in this situation. I just make an effort to uphold that norm.
In the 2022 season, Jacobs set a league record for rushes and was selected as an All-Pro. With 12 running touchdowns that season, Jacobs amassed 1,653 yards at a rate of 4.9 yards per carry.
Like Jones, he has proven hard to stop throughout his career, but he does it with a little more force. Jacobs led the team in missed tackles caused (90) and average yards after contact (11th) in the same 2022 year. Together, they accounted for the second-most rushes of ten yards or more that he scored for the Las Vegas offense, which benefited from his explosive presence.
Jacobs responded, “I think contact balance, man,” when questioned about his capacity to make missed tackles. “Knowing angles, knowing how the body moves, that type of thing. For example, when I’m approaching from an angle, I look at how people are holding their shoulders; I kind of try to use it against them.
“I view football as a game similar to chess, mostly because I’m an attacking player and the defense has to adjust to me. As a result, I attempt to play mind games by running you over or forcing you to miss a play. That resembles what I tend to get into.
Although Jacobs stated that he is eager to see where he fits best as he gets to know the new offense and feels it out, the reality is that, given his skill set and the contract the Packers have given him, he will need to “fit best” everywhere. This includes the passing game, where he can play as a legitimate three-down running back, which he has demonstrated he can.
Throughout his career, Jacobs has played a significant role in the Raiders’ passing game. Jacobs has been targeted 249 times in his first five NFL seasons, including at least 60 times in 2021 and 2022, when he gained close to 800 receiving yards. Over his career, Jacobs has averaged 7.4 yards per catch while catching 81% of his targets.
To put things in perspective, Jacobs’ 61 targets in 2022 placed him 11th overall among running backs in the league. His 2021 total of 69 targets placed him sixth. Thus, even though Jacobs has played a significant role in the passing game, he informed LaFleur early on that he saw more opportunities for himself in that role.
Jacobs remarked, “I was actually talking to coach about that yesterday, and I was telling him I felt like I wanted to catch it a little bit more.” I believe I didn’t get as much opportunity to showcase that as I would have liked. Thus, that was undoubtedly discussed in our talks.
Given how frequently the Packers’ running backs are expected to participate in the passing game, Jacobs should have more opportunities to do so in terms of both possible targets and line-up assignments.
Compared to Jacobs, Jones has taken more snaps over his career while lined up in the slot or out wide. The LaFleur offense relies heavily on the running back’s ability to maneuver around the formation to create the appearance of complexity, as he puts it.
By running a variety of plays from a small number of personnel groupings and building off early game concepts, this, in essence, keeps defenses off-balance and guessing and creates mismatches and a lack of substitution opportunities for the defense, throwing different looks at them.
Versatility across the board for the skill position group is critical to achieving this. Even more so than Jones, Jacobs has shown himself to be a very natural pass-catcher, so there will probably be some adjustment for him with those new duties. However, he might provide a higher skill set to the passing game.
As you’ve probably noticed, none of the data I’ve cited for Jacobs come from the 2023 campaign, which he himself acknowledged was a disappointing year. At 3.5 yards per carry, Jacobs would only manage 805 yards of run yardage and six touchdowns.
As usual, a lot of variables are at play, and to start, Jacobs wasn’t helped by the offensive line. In addition to facing a lot of stacked boxes because of the Raiders’ quarterback problems, Jacobs also faced instability at head coach until Antonio Pierce took over.
When questioned about his poor year, Jacobs replied, “Obviously as a team, it was a little different with the contract stuff and all of that coming in.” There were many new components to our team, and we were unsure about our identity and the quarterback’s identity in particular.
“Well, the first few games were a little hard. After that, we kind of figured it out, but we couldn’t really stay consistent. Towards the end of the season, I ended up being hurt. It was simply one of those circumstances when high expectations were placed on that season, and those expectations were not met.
The setting in which Jacobs will be playing for the Packers presents a fantastic chance for him to make a comeback. Towards the end of the previous season, this offensive line unit was among the finest, even if it needs some competition and depth up front. Jacobs will encounter less filled boxes as a result of the Packers’ receiving arsenal and quarterback Jordan Love.
In order to allow Jones to stay available for as much of the season as possible, the Packers have had to be exceedingly watchful about his workload. That’s kind of the beast that is the running back position in the NFL these days—having a solid No. 2 option to give some breathing room is essential.
Having saying that, Jacobs has been the Raiders’ mainstay throughout his whole career. Despite missing four games in 2023, running back Jacobs still finished 16th in carries. He was sixth in that category in 2021, fourth in 2020, and fourth in total snaps in 2022.
Regarding his durability, Jacobs remarked, “Man, you gotta take care of yourself.” Learning how to take care of yourself is, in my opinion, the largest transition from college to the working world.
“I got the chance to talk to Tom Brady and a few other guys who helped me with that. Whether it’s diet or getting your body to work on certain things quickly to stay as fresh as possible—playing running back is a difficult job, after all—they kind of guided me along that path. It’s a continuous task that requires extreme attention to detail.
All eyes were naturally on Love and the Packers’ passing game in the latter part of the previous season, but combining that with Jones’ explosive run game really opened things up for the offense.
“The optimal course of action is to arrive and diligently work,” Jacobs continued. “Take the lead both in the community and in the boys’ locker room. All of those things, in my opinion, are significant. Consequently, I believe that to be the finest starting point for that track.