GREEN BAY, Wis. — Josh Jacobs was sitting in his Las Vegas Raiders meeting when the Jordan Love movie came on.
A running back… watching video of the opposing quarterback?
This clip was so spectacular that then-head coach Josh McDaniels queued it up for the entire team to watch as the Raiders prepared for the Green Bay Packers last October.
With 12:21 remaining in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears, Love faked a pass to running back Aaron Jones and rolled to his left.
Then, as Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones approached, Love threw a back-shoulder pass toward Jones, who was on the right side of the backfield. Prompted by the blockers blocking him, Jones closed the 5 yards to the line of scrimmage and then the next 3 to the line of forward. Soon, he had advanced 51 yards down the right sideline.
The play was impressive, but in the months that followed, Jacobs also thought about how the serve had started.
“I remember the play like it was yesterday,” Jacobs told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday from his new locker room in Green Bay. “He threw the ball over the fading numbers on one leg. He went right to the target, like a dart. (I thought,) ‘Yeah, bro. He got it.'”
“You just see (Patrick) Mahomes do that, so I’m like, ‘Man, he’s got the potential to be special.’”
When the Packers signed Josh Jacobs in free agency, he thought about this clip and what it would mean to play with Jordan Love.
“You just see Mahomes do that,” Josh told me. “So I thought, ‘Man, he’s got the potential to be special.'”
—Yes, brother. He did it. image.twitter.com/aCvwVbxGgU
– Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 24, 2024
Coming from a team with a top-10 passing offense, Jacobs considered the surrounding talent and opportunity when he hit free agency. He says “between 10 and 12” teams reached out to secure the 2022 NFL rushing champion.
After watching the instability of the quarterback position challenge his own team in 2023, he was eager to join a competitive team with an answer at quarterback. (Love has yet to practice in training camp as he awaits a new contract. But Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said Monday that “we know he’s our franchise quarterback and we’re ready to move on. It’s not like we’re trying to make that decision.”)
“After we played him, I kept up with him,” said Jacobs, whose connections to the team included special teams coach and former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. “They started progressing and getting better and better. I was like, ‘Yeah, this guy is going to be good.’”
In his Packers uniform, Jacobs has a chance to be one, too.
The Raiders’ 2019 first-round draft pick posted three 1,000-yard seasons in his first four years, peaking with 1,653 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in 2022. He fell to 805 yards (11th in the league) and six touchdowns last season amid a quad injury, a missed training camp and instability at both the quarterback and head coach levels.
What could his role be with the Packers?
“I love it because I feel like it’s limitless,” Jacobs said. “I feel like I can go as far as I want and they’re giving me the opportunity and that’s what I like the most: being able to go out there and prove that I can catch the ball and run routes and (more).”
With Jones gone, Jacobs is expected to become the top rusher on an offense coming off two playoff games with a total of 61 carries. The Packers also benefited from 2020 second-round pick AJ Dillon’s 613 rushing yards and two touchdowns last season, though his 3.4 yards per carry fell short of Jones’ 4.6.
Jacobs averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry last year, though he hopes a healed quad and more receivers getting defensive attention will change that trend this season.
Developing chemistry with the offensive line will also be key once padded practices begin.
“Learning when he’s going to cut back, when he’s going to push his sights and throw outside, the nuances of his game, we’ll have to figure those out together,” center Josh Myers told Yahoo Sports. “I’m not going to sit here and say I know right now. But he’s a heck of a football player.”
And someone very aware of the value he needs to bring in a difficult market in terms of value for brokers.
A year ago, Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard sought security beyond the franchise tags that the Raiders, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys had given them, respectively.
Now, each one is preparing for a season with a new team.
“Understand that it’s a business, don’t take it personally, just be smart and very calculated in your next moves,” Jacobs said of his advice to running backs. “On the field, the more you can do, the more you’re going to be, so try to develop your game.
“If you feel that you are weak in this area, try to improve it and be at the best level possible.”
And be prepared at all times, in case Love suffers a cross fade.
