Las Vegas Raiders: Things Raider Nation should be thankful for in 2022
By Jason Willis
Las Vegas Raiders: Things Raider Nation should be thankful for in 2022
Josh Jacobs has peaked
Heading into the 2022 season, the Raiders elected not to pick up the fifth-year option on running back Josh Jacobs’s contract. A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jacobs has been the teams starting running back ever since. Even still, the nature of the running back position makes contract negotiations difficult no matter the player.
While he has been a productive player his entire career, including a Pro Bowl selection, his 2022 season has been far and away his most productive. With 930 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, he is averaging a whopping 93 yards per game. On pace for a career-high in nearly every statistical category, the star running back is playing the best football of his career.
This improved level of play has been a much-needed boost for an offense that lost two of its best playmakers in Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller. Without them, it has mostly been the Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs show in Las Vegas.
Without Jacobs in the backfield, the Raiders’ record would likely be even worse than it is now. The perfect closer, his punishing running style and ability to pick up extra yards make him one of the NFL’s very best running backs.