After managing just 3.5 yards per attempt during the 2023 season while playing with quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo, Aidan O’Connell and Brian Hoyer, Green Bay Packers quarterback Josh Jacobs believes playing with a rookie quarterback like Jordan Love will facilitate him rebound in a huge way in 2024.
More emphasis on Love and the Packers’ passing game and less on Jacobs in the running game could spur a year of improvement for the former Raider wideout.
“It’s just special when you have a guy like Jordan Love in the backfield and you can’t just fill the penalty area on every play and defenders have to decide what they want to stop,” Jacobs he said recently in an interview with NFL Network“I think this will be the biggest help for me this year.”
According to Next Gen Stats, Jacobs faced eight or more defenders in the box on 21.5 percent of his rushing attempts last season. That was actually fewer than Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, who both had more than 23 percent. It’s worth noting that the percentage of boxes with eight or more defenders dropped significantly in the second half of the season, as Love and the passing game finally gained momentum.
In 2022, when Jones rushed for more than 1,100 yards, the Packers quarterback faced eight or more defenders on just 10.8 percent of his rushing attempts. Part of that was the threat of quarterback Aaron Rodgers; another was Rodgers’ decision-making at the line of scrimmage and reluctance to run into faint defensive fronts.
Jacobs faced eight or more receivers on 20.5 percent of his rushing snaps, earning him 2022 MVP honors, so there’s more to this question than just the percentage of eight receivers in the box.
But that’s no secret; teams defend their best quarterbacks differently. In neutral situations, there’s more focus on coverage and less on run defense—which gives running backs the opportunity to exploit lighter areas. A linebacker who might be on the field against an inexperienced or ineffective quarterback might be a lighter, coverage-oriented defensive back against a great quarterback. In the run game, every little advantage counts.
Jacobs struggled with contract issues in the offseason and was injured for part of the regular season, while also dealing with a quarterback rotation in a dysfunctional offense in 2023. He’s under contract for multiple seasons, vigorous at the start of training camp and poised to play a huge role in one of the most stable offenses — led by a veteran point guard and an emerging playmaker — in 2024.
Love was part of Green Bay’s attraction to Jacobs. He wanted to play with a quarterback who could make his job easier. If Love continues to improve, Jacobs should have a real chance to look more like his 2022 self and less like his 2023 self in 2024.
