The Green Bay Packers are taking a chance on new running back Josh Jacobs, and a change of scenery could be what he needs to return to form in 2024.
Nick Faria with Pro Football Network shared his bounce-back candidates for teams around the NFL. He outlined why he thinks Jacobs can turn things around now that he’s with Green Bay.
“Jacobs went from being one of the more complete running backs in the league over the last few years to someone needing to prove he’s worthy of the multi-year contract he received with the Packers,” Faria wrote.
The Packers signed Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million contract this offseason. He’ll have plenty to prove for his new team, with big shoes to fill by replacing Aaron Jones.
Josh Jacobs Has Plenty to Prove
After such a disappointing season, Jacobs comes into 2024 hoping to remind the league how dominant he can be.
Jacobs was the 24th overall pick out of Alabama back in 2019. He got off to a strong start as a rookie with the Las Vegas Raiders with over 1,100 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Although Jacobs had another 1,000-plus yards and 12 touchdowns the following year, he struggled with efficiency. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry, and had just 4.0 YPC the next season in 2021.
Raiders fans finally saw what Jacobs is fully capable of in 2022. He led the league in rushing with 1,653 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry with 12 touchdowns. He added another 400 receiving yards on 53 catches, surpassing 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
Unfortunately, Jacobs took a big step back in 2023. Injuries, multiple news quarterbacks, and a midseason coaching change had the Raiders struggling with offensive consistency. Jacobs averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry, rushing for only 805 yards and six scores.
The Packers are banking on Jacobs looking more like the 2022 version than what he did last season. He’s still only 26 years old, and will have the pressure taken off of him thanks to Jordan Love and Green Bay’s ascending young receivers.
Green Bay’s Other New Running Back
Jacobs isn’t the only new running back for the Packers.
General manager Brian Gutekunst also took MarShawn Lloyd out of USC in the third round of this year’s draft. After transferring from South Carolina, Lloyd averaged a head-turning 7.1 yards per carry. He’s a compact, explosive running back capable of breaking off huge runs.
Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich expects a specific role from Lloyd as a rookie.
“I would like to get (Lloyd) out there as much as possible,” Stenavich told reporters. “He’s not quite the bruiser that [AJ Dillon] is obviously, but he’s got a different type of skill set. So it’ll be nice to get him the ball in space and just see what he can do because I think he’s gonna add a good explosive element to the offense as well.”
That’s high praise when talking about a rookie. It’s worth nothing that there are some concerns with Lloyd’s fumble issues from college. Still, if he can clean up the turnovers, his explosiveness and intensity when on the field will give the Packers an ideal change-of-pace back to rotate in behind Jacobs.
