JOSH Jacobs reminded the NFL why he is a top-five running back in the league by producing a spectacular 2024 season.
Jacobs was a revelation for the Green Bay Packers, and it took just one season for him to establish himself as one of the leaders in the locker room.
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Jacobs had a down year in 2023 with the Las Vegas Raiders, only playing 13 games and rushing for 805 yards and six touchdowns.
However, he was only a year removed from a season in which he had over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro First-Team that season.
Once his rookie contract was up with the Raiders, the Packers swooped in and signed him to replace Aaron Jones in the backfield.
That was a decision that quickly paid off, but Jacobs took his time getting acclimated to his new environment.
“I would say the first few months I kinda just sat back and worked,” Jacobs told The U.S. Sun.
“I kind of let the work speak for itself.”
Jacobs revealed that the further they got into the season, the more people were coming to him in the locker room and asking for his opinion on things.
That probably coincided with a streak of nine gams, including the playoffs, where Jacobs found the end zone every game and scored 13 touchdowns.
“I think as we got into the season I kind of just told them what I seen or what I felt,” Jacobs said.
“Towards the end of the season everybody was kind of coming to me like ‘What do you see? What are you thinking? Do you want to do this? What are your views on this?'”
Jacobs is only 27 years old and been in the NFL for six seasons, but he is one of the veteran voices on the Packers.
The Packers were the youngest team in the league in 2024, with an average age of 25 years old on the roster. Jacobs comes in as one of the older players on the team.
Because of that, he sees himself as a voice of reason within a clubhouse that is growing into one of the best in the league. Jacobs aims to keep his teammates focus on winning.
“I just try to be one of them guys that’s reliable, that’s consistent with everybody,” Jacobs said.
“Try to be a guy that holds everybody accountable to a certain extent.”
Fellow Packers running back AJ Dillon sat alongside Jacobs at Bounty’s House of Wingman booth ahead of Super Bowl LIX, nodding along to his comments about being a leader.
Dillon recognized the value of Jacobs’ presence on the team and shared how much he loved watching him play.
“I’m happy they started feeding him the ball, I was saying that from day one,” Dillon said.
“You gotta get the man his touches. Get the man his touches!”
Dillon kept things simple when talking about his teammates, shouting him and other running backs out around the NFL.
“Josh is a great running back and he put that on display,” Dillon said.
“That’s why you gotta pay the running backs.”
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