Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been so good this season that you tend to forget he is a rookie.

Through nine games, Jacobs has rushed for 811 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry, most recently carrying the ball 16 times for 71 yards and a game-winning score in a pivotal win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

When the Raiders drafted Jacobs with the 24th overall pick back in April, many were left scratching their heads, as Jacobs was not incredibly productive during his collegiate career at Alabama.

But Oakland general manager Mike Mayock saw supreme talent in Jacobs and knew he had to nab him before someone else:

“I walked into Jon's office and I said I want you to watch a guy, we're going to take him in the first round,” Mayock said Friday on The Rich Eisen Show. “To say he was on our radar early would be fair and we tracked him all the way through the process.”

Taking a running back in the first round is generally questionable enough as it is. Taking one who had totaled just 640 rushing yards in what was his best NCAA season made that decision even more puzzling.

Still, Mayock loved what he saw from the 21-year-old:

“I think his lateral quickness, his ability to make people miss, his pass protection, his hands. And the cool thing is, it looks like the play is blocked for one yard and he gets four. And then it looks like you block it for four and he gets 10,” Mayock said. “If this kid takes care of all the details, he has a chance to be good.”

The Raiders are now 5-4 on the season and are very much alive in the AFC playoff picture, thanks much in part to Jacobs' brilliance.