Las Vegas Raiders running back JoshJacobs burst on to the scene in 2019 and had an incredible statistical season. Will he be able to improve on a stellar rookie campaign in 2020?
Josh Jacobs was another revelation for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019. The rookie immediately became the best player on the Raiders offense and quickly established himself as not just one of the best rookies but one of the best running backs in the league. After sharing the backfield for his college career with the likes of Najee Harris and Bo Scarbrough at Alabama, Jacobs became the feature back and had nearly as many carries in one NFL season as he had in three years with the Crimson Tide.
In just 13 games, Jacobs rushed for 1150 yards at 4.8 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. Jacobs was eighth in the NFL in rushing, tenth in yards per carry but fifth among players with 200+ carries, and fifteenth in rushing touchdowns. Among rookies it was not even a contest as Jacobs out-rushed his closest competition by over 250 yards on the exact same number of carries. In terms of total yards from scrimmage he was narrowly out-gained by Philadelphia Eagles rookie Miles Sanders who established himself as quite the receiving back.
If Jacobs was fully healthy and played all 16 games his numbers would have even been more impressive so assuming he plays a full season in 2020, what sort of numbers will he put up in year two?