The Oakland Raiders notably secured not one, not two, but three first-round picks as a result of the 2019 NFL Draft. While utilizing two of these three picks to select defensive players, the Raiders did manage to snag one offensive stand out as well in former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Josh Jacobs.
Currently serving as the league's top offensive rookie — among running backs or otherwise — Jacobs has burst onto the scene in Oakland en route to becoming one of the league's leading rushers in 2019-20. As it stands today, Jacobs leads all rookies in rushing yards and ranks sixth overall in the entire NFL in such a category. The only players with more rushing yards than Jacobs' 740 are Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb and Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson, respectively.
Initially selected by the soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 24 overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the 21-year-old rusher has excelled throughout his rookie season. Throughout his eight regular-season appearances atop the highest level this time around, Jacobs has carried the football 152 times en route to producing just under 750 rushing yards and six touchdowns via the ground game. As it stands today, Jacobs is averaging 4.9 yards per carry in addition to not fumbling football once thus far into his NFL tenure.
Impressing at every level in terms of a balanced offensive attack from the running back position, Jacobs has not fumbled, ranks sixth in the entire NFL in rushing yards, and has caught 11 passes on 15 targets for another 105 yards. Not only that, but he has also shown that he can serve as a durable, reliable, and legitimate every-down back in this league.
It didn't take much time at all for Jacobs to begin to become a true superstar for a Raiders team that certainly needs a boost. It is not a stretch to say that Jacobs is the key reason that the Raiders are an even 4-4 on the year while this isn't the most impressive record ever, but it is certainly something that didn't seem possible just weeks before the start of the 2019-20 regular season.
Even though it seems like a distant memory at this point, the Raiders encountered quite the tumultuous offseason, thanks to the now infamously Antonio Brown debacle. Adding to the Raiders odd offseason adventures, the team was featured on HBO's hit series, “Hard Knocks,” which did not add any optimism to the big picture in Oakland.
However, ironically enough, Jacobs has become a major bright spot for the once-heralded AFC West franchise as a rookie this season even though he wasn't even featured on “Hard Knocks.” This speaks volumes of Jacobs' play on the field as all of the attention he is receiving is based solely on his impressive play. If he can string together an entire campaign at this level, Jacobs will remain in the spotlight for years to come as a Raiders superstar.
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