“Sky Is the Limit”: Jordan Love Will Help Josh Jacobs Unlock His Potential Says Packers RB

The running back market is probably one of the most devalued in the league in recent times. It’s gotten to a point where players seemingly don’t think twice before parting ways with the team. But look at Josh Jacobs, who found himself struggling to get a deal out of the Las Vegas Raiders and the team didn’t budge at all.

In hindsight, it might have been the best decision that Josh Jacobs made. How? The Raiders didn’t have to spend $48 million on a 4-year contract with Jacobs, but on the bright side, Jacobs found a new home in Wisconsin. Now, Jordan Love will hand him check-down passes and watch him cut through defenses. Seems like a win for everybody!

Josh Jacobs wants to leave a mark when he leaves the league, and that’s what he thinks that the Green Bay Packers can help him do. In an interview on NFL Insiders, the RB revealed exactly how he’s going to help Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur max out their offenses. But that’s also because the Packers are making his job easier than what it used to be in the Raiders.

Matt LaFleur’s “philosophy” on the field is pretty clear: he uses multiple backs, and that’s good news for Jacobs, who low-key took some shots at the Raiders. Tom Pelissero asked Jacobs about how he’s going to mesh with the Packers offense and the things he expects in the 2024 season this year. Jordan Love, the physical O-Line, and the wideout core will help Jacobs solidify the offense even further, per the star.

“I honestly think the sky is the limit in this offense,” Jacobs told NFL Network Insiders and added, “Obviously, with having a special guy in Jordan Love, you know, and having a good offensive line and some good receivers out there makes it a lot easier for me, but just to be able to see the game plan and things that they want me to do this year, the things that they’re allowing me to do, I just think it’s going to be a special year.”

The statement “things that they’re allowing me to do” holds a lot of weight. Why? Josh Jacobs couldn’t do much for the Raiders last year. He didn’t run any quirky routes, there was no gap for him to run the ball (that’s on O-Line), and no free lanes as well. It got to a point when Jacobs got frustrated and asked, “What do you want me to do?”

Can you recall the 38-10 blowout loss against the Bills last year? Jacobs had negative 2 yards in that game. At that time, he became the first reigning rushing champion to have negative yards since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.  However, this year, the RB has a real shot of showcasing his potential with Matt LaFleur’s skills.

How can Josh Jacobs transform the Green Bay Packers?

Josh Jacobs’ underutility at the Las Vegas Raiders might not be a contest to some people. But despite the problems with the Raiders, Jacobs had 233 carries, 805 yards, and 6 touchdowns last year. Here’s where LaFleur kicks in and he might help him do even better this year. The Packers head coach is fond of using multiple running backs on the field to put less strain on just one player. For now, the coach is committed to giving more responsibility to Jacobs. That became pretty evident in LaFleur’s recent statements.

“I do think he’s very capable of being a high-volume feature back where he’s getting the bulk of the carries, but we’ll see how it plays out,” said LaFleur about Josh Jacobs. But if we look back in time, we will understand how this philosophy of keeping multiple backs has been working out in the Packers’ favor.

Let’s talk about the time when Aaron Jones used to be the main back for the team. In 2019, Jamaal Williams, and Dexter Williams were backing Aaron Jones, but later Dexter Williams was replaced by AJ Dillion after Dexter hit the free agency. Now that Aaron Jones has moved on to the Vikings, Josh Jacobs is in charge of leading the backfield with the same pieces on his side.

“We’ll see. Philosophically, no matter who the runner is, we like to platoon those guys, whether it’s two guys or three guys,” said LaFleur about the backfield position and explained, “I just think it allows the running backs to stay fresh throughout the duration of the season, it’s a very violent position they play and some of those hits are high impact hits.”

It’s also notable that Josh Jacobs also has some catching talent in him. In fact, when he came to the Raiders, he was shocked that they didn’t need him to catch passes, but this year, he has the liberty to do that. The Packers’ O-Line is strong and that became clear in the Cowboys-Packers wild card game last season. They didn’t let Jordan Love take a sack. Not even once!

The Raiders had a poor O-Line last year, which didn’t give much room for Josh Jacobs to perform how he wanted. That has changed with the Packers and the running back is excited for the future. In fact, he thinks this is going to make a huge difference this year.

“Just to be able to come out and actually show that I can catch the ball more,” Jacobs said. “Not just that but trusting me enough to be able to pick up protections. It’s just so special when you got a guy like Jordan Love back there, and you can’t really just load the box every play, and you make defenses decide what they want to stop. I think that’s going to be the biggest help for me this year.”

Jacobs’ attitude screams that he’s ready to play alongside Jordan Love and the other wideouts in the Green Bay Packers. The only concerning thing about his contract is that he might get traded if and when the Packers decide. But he’s hoping that he can make the best of his tenure and play for even longer. Do you see the Packers going beyond playoffs this year with Josh Jacobs taking the crucial role beside Jordan? Let us know your thoughts below!