Getty Josh Jacobs with former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.
Many Las Vegas Raiders players disappointed this season but there’s one who exceeded every expectation. Despite being a Pro Bowler and former first-round pick, it looked like Josh Jacobs wouldn’t be with the team past the 2022 season. He responded by leading the NFL in rushing and getting named to his second Pro Bowl.
Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden was thought of as a coach who loved to run the ball. He was very high on Jacobs but the running back never had close to the same amount of success under Gruden as he has had under Josh McDaniels. Nobody questions that Gruden has a strong offensive mind but now that Jacobs has seen more minds, he doesn’t believe his former head coach is at the same level.
“Obviously Gruden is a great football mind, but these guys just take it to another level,” Jacobs said Monday. “Just when it comes to the way they explain things and the way they utilize certain guys. Just learning their playbook and their terminology and then taking it and putting my own little spin on it, it’s definitely been fun.”
This isn’t the first time that Jacobs took a bit of a jab at Gruden. Last season, he mentioned that after Rich Bisaccia became the interim head coach, the team felt much calmer.
Jacobs Named First-Team All-Pro
Jacobs had a career year in 2022 but he also dominated the NFL as a whole. He led the league in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage while scoring 12 touchdowns. For the first time ever, the NFL Players Association had players vote for the league’s All-Pro team.
Jacobs was named to the First-Team, which means players around the league think he’s the best running back in the NFL.
Here is the inaugural Players’ All-Pro Team, via the NFL Players Association:
This is the first time Jacobs has made any All-Pro team. He’s certainly deserving. His surface-level stats were great but he was also Pro Football Focus‘ No. 1 ranked running back in 2022.
100% Chance Jacobs Stays With Raiders?
The Raiders didn’t expect Jacobs to be this good in 2022. That is evident by the fact that the team didn’t pick up his fifth-year option in the offseason. The Raiders will now have to pay him soon if they hope to keep him. It’s obvious that he’s a great fit in McDaniels’ offense so moving on from him now could be a mistake. Running backs don’t have the longest shelf life but Jacobs is only 24. He should have at least a few more years of being an elite-level running back.
While it looked like Jacobs was playing his last year in Las Vegas, it’s becoming increasingly likely that the Raiders don’t let him go. In fact, many insiders are saying that there is no chance the running back is allowed to walk. According to Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter, there’s a 100% chance Jacobs is retained.
“I was told by one high-ranking member of the organization when I asked the percentage chance that Josh Jacobs would be back in Silver and Black next season, and he said: ‘100,’” Carpenter wrote.
The Raiders can always use the franchise tag on Jacobs if they can’t reach a long-term deal.