While the Packers are set to have plenty of continuity on offense next season, the team will be welcoming in a new starting running back in Josh Jacobs. As Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journals writes, Jacobs was limited through the first few weeks of team workouts thanks to a hamstring injury. However, the veteran was able to recently participate in his first 11-on-11 drills of the offseason, and Jacobs believes he’s just about back to 100 percent health.
After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Raiders, Jacobs is trying to quickly get acclimated to his new environment in Green Bay. There’s the added pressure of replacing long-time RB Aaron Jones atop the depth chart, so the newest acquisition is hoping to hit the ground running.
“The guys on the team make it real easy from that standpoint. They’re like, ‘Man, we’ve played against you, we’ve watched you, we know what you can do, we know who you are,’” Jacobs said. “(But) for me, it’s big to be able to show and prove myself to the team. I think that’s important no matter what you’ve done in the past. I think it’s important for the guys to see that so they can respect it.
“That’s the only thing where I’m like, ‘I’m ready to go!’”
Jacobs established himself as one of the NFL’s prolific rushers during his time with the Raiders, but he saw an inconsistent role in the passing game. During his most productive seasons, Jacobs topped 50 receptions per season, but he’s coming off a 2023 campaign where he was limited to 37 catches. Pro Football Focus didn’t put that entirely on the Raiders’ QB play, as they graded Jacobs as a bottom-10 pass catcher at his position.
Still, as Wilde notes, Packer head coach Matt LaFleur, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, and running backs coach Ben Sirmans are hoping to get Jacobs more involved in the passing game than he was in Las Vegas.
“I think the biggest thing with him is he’s an explosive player,” Sirmans said. “Obviously, he’s big, he’s physical, he’ll be able to break tackles. He’ll be able to give us a lot of production in different ways than Aaron did.”
In summary, they will hand him the ball, and he will run with it.
Better than passing it to him also
The headline scared me for a second. Then I remembered Joe Barry is gone, and they won’t be trying him out at defensive tackle.
I hope Jacobs returns to his 2022 form – as I want to see the dogfight ramping up in the NFC North.
I’m not expecting much of a dogfight. The Lions should win the division in a cakewalk. The Bears and Vikes have rookie QBs and despite showing a lot of promise last season, the Packers still have the youngest roster in the NFL.
Having the youngest team means they have the most room for growth. Look how they improved last season. Now with new defensive coaches, improvements at safety and linebacker and the expected jump from last years rookies I expect a year long battle with Detroit for the division.