GREEN BAY, Wis. — Josh Jacobs was sitting in his Las Vegas Raiders meeting when the Jordan Love film came on.
A running back … watching opposing quarterback film?
This clip was so spectacular that then-head coach Josh McDaniels queued it for the entire team to watch as the Raiders prepared for the Green Bay Packers last October.
With 12:21 to play in the third quarter against the Chicago Bears, Love faked a handoff to running back Aaron Jones and rolled to his left.
Then, with Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones closing in, Love heaved a back-shoulder fade of a pass to then-Packers running back Aaron Jones in the right side of the backfield. Fueled by downfield blockers, Jones closed the 5 yards to the line of scrimmage, then the next 3 to the line to gain. Soon, he had exploded 51 yards up the right sideline.
The rush was impressive. But in the months to come, Jacobs’ mind lingered also on how the snap 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 it on the numbers fading away on one leg. It was on the money, like a dart. [I thought,] ‘Yeah, bro. He got it.’
“You only really see Mahomes do that so I’m like, ‘Man, he has the potential to be special.’”
When the Packers hit up Josh Jacobs in free agency, he thought back to this clip—and what it’d mean to play with Jordan Love.
“You only really see Mahomes do that,” Josh told me. “So I’m like, ‘Man, he has the potential to be special.’
“Yeah, bro. He got it.” pic.twitter.com/aCvwVbxGgU
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 24, 2024
Coming from a team with a bottom-10 passing offense, Jacobs considered surrounding talent as well as opportunity when he reached free agency. He says “10 to 12” teams reached out to hire the services of the 2022 NFL rushing champion.
After watching how quarterback instability challenged his own team in 2023, he was eager to join a competitive team with an answer at quarterback. (Love hasn’t practiced yet 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 forward. It’s not like we’re trying to make that decision.”)
“After we played him, I kind of kept up with him,” said Jacobs, whose team connections included special teams coach and former Raiders interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. “They started to progress and started to get better and better. I was like, ‘Yeah — this dude is going to be good.’”
In his Packers uniform, Jacobs has the opportunity to be, also.
The Raiders’ 2019 first-round pick posted three 1,000-yard seasons in his first four years, peaking at 1,653 yards and 12 touchdowns rushing in 2022. He dipped to 805 yards (11th in the league) and six touchdowns last year amid a quad injury, a training camp holdout and instability at both quarterback and head coach.
What might his Packers role look like?
“Man, I love it because I feel like it’s limitless,” Jacobs said. “I feel like I can really take it almost as far as I want to go with it and they’re giving me the opportunity and that’s what I like the most: I’m being able to go out there to show I can catch the ball and run routes and [more].”
With Jones’ departure, expect Jacobs to become the top running back in an offense coming off two playoff games featuring 61 total rushes. The Packers also benefitted from 613 rushing yards and two touchdowns last season from 2020 second-round pick AJ Dillon, though his 3.4 yards per carry trailed Jones’ 4.6.
Jacobs averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry last year, though he’s helping a healed quad and more receivers commanding defensive attention will change that trend this season.
Developing chemistry with the offensive line will be key, too, once padded practices begin.
“Learning when he’s going to cut back, when he’s going to press his aiming point and hit it outside, the nuances of his game, we’ll have to figure it 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 one acutely aware of the value he needs to provide amid a market tough on running-back value.
A year ago, Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard each sought security beyond the franchise tags the Raiders, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys had given them, respectively.
Now, each prepares 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 are — so try to develop your game.
“If you feel like you’re weak in this area, try to pick the area up and be at the best level that you can be.”
And be ready at all times, in case a cross-field fadeaway from Love comes his way.