The vast majority of NFL rookies are entitled to a grace period of acclimating to the size, speed, and intellect of professional football, riding the bench or playing most only on special teams during their debut campaigns. Running backs stand apart from other first-year players, though, and especially ones selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The average career length of running backs, after all, is just over two and-a-half seasons, according to Statista, by far the lowest at any position. There's definitely a kernel of truth to the belief that running backs, given the additional importance of physical ability and natural instincts, transition more seamlessly to the NFL than their peers, too. Why wait, then, to throw rookie running backs into the fire as full-time starters and contributors?

The Oakland Raiders may very well make Josh Jacobs their featured back this season, both with those realities and his rare physical gifts in mind. But just because Oakland's first-round pick, the only running back taken on the opening night of the draft, has the inside track on being his team's No. 1 back doesn't mean he's already been given the role.

Why? As coach Jon Gruden tells it, Jacobs, like all rookies, must prove he can take the ferocity and frequency of NFL hits.

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During his third and final season at the University of Alabama, Jacobs posted career-highs across the board of 120 carries for 640 yards and 11 touchdowns, also catching 20 passes for 247 yards and three scores.

Gruden has publicly praised Jacobs on multiple occasions throughout the offseason, clearly enamored with the 21-year-old's blend of burst, power, agility, and competitiveness. Until Jacobs proves time and again that he can stand up to the physical rigors of the NFL, though, it seems like the Raiders are intent on slow-playing his role in the offense.