Pro Football Network picked one rebound candidate for every NFL team this season and for the Green Bay Packers, the site selected rookie Josh Jacobs as that player.
After leading the NFL in rushing yards with 1,653 in the 2022 season, Jacobs’ numbers took a nosedive in 2023. He finished last year with 805 yards, averaging just 3.5 yards per attempt.
As always, there were a lot of factors at play, one of which was the fact that Jacobs was getting hammered, appearing in only 13 games. But beyond that, the Raiders’ offense could never quite get traction either.
“Obviously as a team,” Jacobs said when asked about the down year, “with the contracts and everything that happened, it was a little different. We had a lot of novel moving parts, we didn’t really know who the quarterback was going to be, we didn’t really know what our identity was going to be.
“So the first few games were pretty tough and then we started to get a little bit better, but we couldn’t keep up the consistency and I got hurt towards the end of the year. It was one of those situations where you expect a lot from the season and it didn’t happen.
However, in Green Bay, Jacobs will have some extra rebounding assist in 2024. Given Jordan Love’s potential in the Packers’ passing game, Jacobs will likely have to face fewer eights, which will translate into more space to operate.
Jacobs will also play for the Packers behind a better offensive line than the one he had with the Raiders.
The obvious impact Jacobs brings to the Packers offense is his ball-carrying ability, though his chances of having a successful bounce-back season are twice as great given the opportunities he gets in the passing game.
With the Raiders, Jacobs was a gigantic part of the passing game, racking up 249 total catches in five seasons. That likely will continue with the Packers, given how significant it is for Matt LaFleur’s offense to have a running back who can also play pass catcher. But Jacobs will have to impact that part of the game in a different way than he has in the past.
“I actually talked to (LaFleur) about it and told him I felt like I wanted to capture it a little more,” Jacobs said. “I feel like I haven’t been able to show it as much as I would like. This has certainly come up in the conversations we’ve had. I know the patterns here, they run a lot outside the zone. I think it just suits me, man. I can’t wait to come in, feel it and see where I fit in. But also try to leave your mark on it.”
Jacobs’ ability to regain his form this season will be a key factor in helping the Packers offense reach its full potential. It’s no coincidence that things started to come together for this group overdue last season, when Aaron Jones was fully hearty and running for 100 yards every week, which seemed relatively simple. When the offense can lean on the running game, everything else opens up.
