The Rise of Josh Jacobs: From Overlooked Recruit to NFL Star
Joshua Cordell Jacobs, born on February 11, 1998, has carved out an impressive career in the National Football League (NFL). Currently a running back for the Green Bay Packers, Jacobs journey to professional football is a testament to his resilience and determination. His story begins in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he faced significant adversity, and culminates in being a first-round NFL draft pick and leading the league in rushing yards.
Early Life and High School Career
Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Josh Jacobs attended McLain High School. He has been open about being homeless and talks about how it helped shape his work ethic and mentality. Despite the challenges he and his family faced, Jacobs excelled on the football field, having a standout high school football career and graduating with the class of 2016.
Despite his talent, Jacobs was initially overlooked by many Division I football programs. It wasn't until his high school highlights were posted on social media that major college programs began to take notice.
College Career at Alabama
Ultimately, Alabama jumped and convinced Josh to join the Crimson Tide. From unknown to Alabama in two months: The story of new Tide RB Joshua Jacobs. From 2016 to 2018, Jacobs played college football at the University of Alabama.
Oddly enough, Jacobs didn’t have the most prolific stats at Alabama. Nevertheless, he still put up good numbers and was a valuable member of Alabama’s 2017 National Championship-winning team. What stands out about Jacobs’ numbers is that he never had more than 120 carries in a season. But those Alabama teams were so stacked in the offensive backfield with talent including Jalen Hurts, Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris, Najee Harris, and Brian Robinson Jr. In three seasons at Alabama, Jacobs was never the leading rusher on the Crimson Tide.
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In 2016, he rushed for 567 yards and four touchdowns on 85 carries. He only had double-digit carries in three of the Crimson Tide’s games in 2016 and only one 100-yard rushing game. In 2017, Jacobs’ numbers went down to 284 yards and a touchdown on 46 carries. But remember, Alabama’s backfield was crowded with talent. So much so that Jacobs was fifth on the team in rush attempts and rushing yards.
His final season at Alabama, in 2018, was his best season. Jacobs had 11 touchdowns and 640 yards on 120 carries. But when looking at his game log, it almost diminishes his final numbers. He only had four games with double-digit carries and no games with 100 yards rushing. But his season-high in rushing yards, 98, came in the College Football Playoff Semifinals against Oklahoma, helping Alabama race out to a 28-0 lead in the first 17 minutes and hang on for a 45-34 win.
Jacobs had limited yet impressive numbers in college due to Alabama's crowded backfield. But given the chance to carve out a role of his own, the running back is expected to flourish in the NFL. He averaged nearly 6.0 yards per carry in college and has the ideal body frame to take on tacklers at the next level.
NFL Career
Despite the slow start in being recruited for college, Josh was considered in the upper echelon of Running Backs coming out of school and met with a number of NFL teams before the draft.
Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders (2019-2023)
Jacobs was drafted 24th overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019.
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The Oakland Raiders selected Jacobs in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, a pick that was acquired from the Chicago Bears in the September 2018 Khalil Mack trade. Jacobs’s rookie contract was four years and $11.9 million fully guaranteed.
He made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. In the game, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns and caught one pass for 28 yards in the 24-16 victory. In the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he rushed 12 times for 99 yards as the Raiders lost by a score of 28-10. Three weeks later against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Jacobs rushed 26 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 20 yards in the 24-21 win. One of his touchdowns was the first in the new stadium. During Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, he rushed 21 times for 124 yards in the 42-24 road loss. Two weeks later against the Detroit Lions, Jacobs rushed 28 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-24 victory. After the eighth game of the season, Jacobs set the Raiders rookie record for rushing yards in a season with 740, surpassing Marcus Allen's old record of 697 in a nine-game season. In the next game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Jacobs rushed for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown and caught five passes for 30 yards. In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 112 yards in the 17-10 win. In Week 13 against the Chiefs, Jacobs rushed 17 times for 104 yards in the 40-9 loss.
The first game of the season just happened to be a Monday Night Football game where Jacobs rushed for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. He helped the Raiders to a week 1 win and would go on to have a fantastic rookie season, being named to the NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019.
Jacobs made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. During the game, Jacobs rushed 25 times for 93 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the Las Vegas Raiders' 34-30 victory. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, while being named to NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019 and to his first Pro Bowl in 2020.
In 2021 alone Josh Jacobs suffered two big injuries. To start off week 1 he hurt his ankle during the game. Earlier, he had been dealing with a pedal toe sprain. In week 7 he suffered from a chest rib bruise but didn’t miss any significant time. As a lead back in the Raiders offense he was always making contact with a defender. He dealt with all of those injuries and managed to return every time to help lead the Raiders offense.
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On April 29, 2022, the Raiders announced that they would not pick up the fifth-year option on Jacobs' contract, making him a free agent in the 2023 offseason. In Week 4, Jacobs set a career high in yardage in a 23-32 win against the Broncos where he ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns. In the following week against the Chiefs, Jacobs ran for a career-high 154 yards on 21 carries in a 30-29 loss. In the next game, against the Houston Texans, he had 20 carries for 143 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 38-20 victory. In Week 11, against the Broncos, Jacobs had 160 scrimmage yards in the 22-16 victory. The following week against the Seattle Seahawks, Jacobs rushed for 229 yards, and had 74 receiving yards. He finished with a total of 303 scrimmage yards, and two touchdowns in the 40-34 victory, culminating in an 86 yard walk-off touchdown to win the game in overtime. For his performance, Jacobs won AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In the following game, Jacobs had 26 carries for 144 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a 27-20 victory over the Chargers.
In 2022, he led the league in rushing yards with 1,653 and became the first Raider since 1985 to surpass 2,000 scrimmage yards. Jacobs was the NFL rushing yards leader with 340 attempts, 1,653 rushing yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns. From Weeks 4-7, Jacobs had three consecutive games with two rushing touchdowns, with the first two games going over 150 scrimmage yards as well.
Green Bay Packers (2024-Present)
This offseason, Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Packers.
Personal Life
Jacobs is of Filipino descent through his paternal grandmother, a native of Angeles City, and has a portrait of her tattooed on his left hand.
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