Oakland Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs was a polarizing prospect that Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock had their eyes on for quite some time. Now, let’s analyze how they will utilize his abilities in year one.
The Raiders used some high draft capital to snag RB Josh Jacobs off the draft board with the 24th overall pick. Jacobs was the only running back to hear his name called during the first-round of the draft, and rightfully so. He was the consensus top running back among most of the draft experts, according to their big board’s.
During Mike Mayock’s first week as the Raiders new general manager, he got an up close look on Jacobs during the college football national championship. Jacobs clearly made his presence felt, as there have been several reports that Gruden and Mayock were both eyeballing Jacobs since the big game in Santa Clara.
After spending such a highly touted pick on Jacobs, it appears the Raiders have big plans for him once he gets implemented into Gruden’s offensive system. Gruden is known to run his offense through a three-down back, who runs with immense physicality.
Jacobs fits that build, as he’s a strong runner who ran right through opposing tacklers during his time at Alabama. He averaged 5.9-yards per carry in college with his vicious mindset running the football.
It appears Jacobs will be the Raiders three-down running back, giving him every opportunity to get touches in the Raiders offense. After newly signed Isaiah Crowell went down with a torn achilles last week, the door is wide open for Jacobs to take over. He’ll likely have Doug Martin and Jalen Richard as complementary running backs in the mix. Martin will still get his share of touches throughout, and Richard will be the Raiders primary pass catching back out of the backfield.
Also to note, Chris Warren III and DeAndre Washington are also notable running backs on the current roster that can fight their way in there for touches.
Jacobs has large shoes to fill, taking over in the starting role, but he does possess the ability to flourish in his rookie season. Dating back to his time in college, Jacobs shared the backfield with teammate Damien Harris. With that being said, Jacobs still has a lot left in the tank after sharing touches in college.
His numbers under Nick Saban were sufficient, as he rushed for 640-yards and 11 touchdowns. As well as hauling in 20 receptions for 247-yards and three touchdowns. His rushing numbers might not jump off the page, but part of that is due to the backfield by committee that Alabama used. Although, it didn’t interfere with his ability to find the end zone, as he totaled 14 touchdowns in his final season with the Crimson Tide.
Despite sharing the backfield, Jacobs projects as a running back who can do it all. He’s shown the ability in college to run, block, and catch passes out of the backfield. Expect him to do the same in Gruden’s offense, as he’ll have to do so in order to stay on the field for all three downs.
Jacobs is a potential offensive rookie of the year candidate, as the Raiders may have found their new “featured back” in round one of the NFL draft.