Pro Football Network selected one player from each NFL team as a potential bounce-back candidate this season, and Green Bay Packers rookie Josh Jacobs was chosen.
Jacobs was the NFL's rushing leader entering the 2022 season with 1,653 yards, but his production regressed in 2023. He finished with 805 yards last year, averaging just 3.5 yards per attempt.
As always, there are a lot of factors at play, including Jacobs being injured and limited to just 13 games, but the Raiders' offense also struggled to find consistent momentum.
“It's natural for a team,” Jacobs said when asked about the down year. “It felt a little different with all the contract stuff and stuff. We had a lot of new guys and we weren't really sure who our quarterback was going to be and what our team identity was going to be.”
“The first few games were a bit tough, then I started to get the hang of things, but I just couldn't play consistently. Then I got injured at the end of the year. It was one of those situations where I had high hopes for the season, but it didn't go as expected.”
But Green Bay will have some added help around Jacobs when it comes to rebounding in 2024. The Packers' strong passing game is led by Jordan Love, so Jacobs will have to deal with fewer eight-man boxes and will be able to play in more space as a result.
Jacobs will also be playing behind a better offensive line unit with the Packers than he did with the Raiders.
The obvious impact Jacobs will have on the Packers offense is his ability as a ball carrier, but the opportunities he'll get in the passing game double his chances of having a bounce-back season.
With the Raiders, Jacobs was a big part of the passing game, racking up 249 total targets over five seasons, and that role will likely continue with the Packers given how important it is for Matt LaFleur's offense for the running back to be able to double as a pass-catching tackle, but Jacobs will be asked to impact that part of the game in a different way than he has in the past.
“I actually talked to (LaFleur) about it and I told him I felt like I wanted to make a few more catches,” Jacobs said. “I feel like I didn't show it as much as I wanted to, so it was definitely in the conversations we had. I know the tactics here, they do a lot of outside zone running, and I feel like that's a good fit for me. I can't wait to get in there, get a feel and see where I fit, but I also want to make my mark there.”
Whether Jacobs can bounce back this season will be a key factor in the Packers' offense reaching its full potential. It's no coincidence that this team really started to get better in the second half of last season when Aaron Jones was fully healthy and rushing for 100 yards per week with relative ease. When an offense can rely on the run game, everything else falls into place.
