In what was one of the most mocked landing spots by #DraftTwitter, Jon Gruden landed his three-down workhorse when they selected Alabama’s Josh Jacobs at No. 24 overall. Although his usage at Alabama looks concerning on the outside (252 total carries in three seasons), it was mostly due to him splitting time with other five star running back monsters that Nick Saban had on his depth chart. Despite playing second fiddle to new Patriots’ RB Damien Harris and a handful of others, Jacobs showed his versatility by returning kicks, lining up at Wildcat QB and at wide receiver, while finishing his career with 1,491 yards and 16 touchdowns. He will not only be the main ball carrier for the Raiders, but his receiving skills will also be utilized on all three downs. Jacobs landed in the perfect landing spot in Oakland.
As mentioned, Jacobs’ limited usage was similar to Kenyan Drake’s (233 carries) at Alabama. Just like Drake though, Jacobs excelled in all three phases of the game, as he averaged 12.4 yards per reception and led the SEC in average kick return yardage with 30.6 yards.
“In high school before like every practice, I used to just go out and run routes,” Jacobs said. “Learn the route trees and stuff like that. It’s always something I’ve loved doing. So when I got to college, they put me out at receiver in slot and let me run routes and they were like, ‘hold on, we might actually have something.’”
In Gruden’s offense, his running backs accounted for 32 percent of his offense’s target share and in 8-of-11 seasons his running backs have caught at least 40 balls. With Marshawn Lynch no longer around, Jacobs will only have to fend off Isaiah Crowell, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington for touches.
Jacobs debuts at RB19 in our 2019 Big Board.
