Oakland Raiders: Josh Jacobs, not Antonio Brown, is the star that the team needed
Oakland Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs is quickly emerging as a superstar in the NFL. But just how far can he take the Raiders this season?
Watching Josh Jacobs bend and bounce around defenders is an absolute delight. And after everything that’s gone wrong for the Oakland Raiders, I can’t thank him enough.
As Josh Jacobs churned his way to a game-clinching first down against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, I forgot, however briefly, about Antonio Brown, Khalil Mack, and the Raiders’ coming move away from Oakland.
Josh Jacobs is making everything seem alright, even easy.
While Hard Knocks’ camera crews chased around Brown and his frostbitten feet, Jacobs slipped by unnoticed. For a first-rounder from Alabama, Jacobs had no nose for the spotlight — only, it seems, for football.
He could only evade the cameras for so long, though, with the Raiders opening their season on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. The tape rolling, Jacobs delivered, racking up 113 yards from scrimmage and scoring two touchdowns en route to a 16-24 win.
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Through four weeks, Jacobs ranks fourth amongst all running backs in missed tackles forced per touch, per PFF’s Scott Barrett. Jacobs is also PFF’s highest-rated rookie, earning an elite overall grade of 82.2, ahead of the likes of Kyler Murray and Quinnen Williams.
His stats aside, what’s so remarkable about Jacobs is the patience with which he approaches each rushing attempt. Where ex-Raiders Latavius Murray and Darren McFadden would fall forward into defenders, Jacobs waits, slashing his way through holes that other backs often miss.
Jacobs is quite simply a rising star on a team that desperately needs one. Without Jacobs, the Raiders lack a playmaking talent that can truly alter an opposing defense’s game plan. Sorry, Tyrell Williams.
What once looked like a lost season has turned into a last stab at relevance while the Raiders are still in Oakland, if only for Jacobs’ emergence.
The Raiders sit at 2-2 heading into Sunday’s reunion with Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears. It was only a season ago that the Raiders shipped away the superstar edge rusher for the first-round pick that they used to draft Jacobs.
Many decried the trade then, and rightfully so — I mean, there’s still something unsettling about seeing Mack dressed in Chicago blue. But Jacobs is doing everything he possibly can to swing public perception of the trade the Raiders’ way.
Next. Oakland Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 4 win over the Colts. dark
The Bears’ second-ranked defense will look to stymie and stuff the Raiders’ offensive attack. Josh Jacobs gives them a chance, however slim. At this point, that’s all I can ask for.