Everything just seemed to point to the Packers for running back Josh Jacobs this offseason.
As the free-agent back surveyed the NFL landscape and considered his options, Green Bay started to look more and more as a logical destination for him.
Since signing his four-year, $48 million deal with the Packers, Jacobs has only firmed up his belief that he made the right decision.
“I honestly think the sky is the limit in this offense,” Jacobs told NFL Network Insiders Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero on Tuesday’s The Insiders. “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.”
Packers head coach Matt La Fleur has traditionally favored a multi-back approach in Green Bay but has said that he views Jacobs as more of a high-volume back. You have to go back to the 2017 season when LaFleur was the Rams’ offensive coordinator to find a back he coached that topped the 300-touch mark, but that might be what’s in store for Jacobs this coming season.
LaFleur also likes calling pass plays for his backs, and Jacobs said that the Packers “have me running real routes” – perhaps a veiled shot at his usage with the Las Vegas Raiders. And it sounds like he’s planning on a lot of third-down duty in Green Bay.
“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.”
Love also could help Jacobs tremendously after wallowing at times through some middling QB play with the Raiders. Although Love started last season slowly, he finished it on a tear, leading the Packers to an unexpected playoff victory.
Based on Jacobs’ limited first-hand exposure to him so far, Love appears to possess everything it takes to thrive consistently.
“To me, just from what I’ve seen, he has all the traits and all the tools to be a superstar in this league,” Jacobs said. “I think that as he keeps continuing to play and gets experience and becomes more confident in his abilities and what he can do, he’s going to be the next superstar in this league, for sure.”
Jacobs also sees Green Bay as a big part of his future, too. Although his contract is structured in such a way where he’s not guaranteed to be there for all four years of the deal, Jacobs said he hopes that it’s a place where he can put some roots down – and start to cement his NFL legacy.
“I can honestly say that as I’m getting older and I’m playing longer, I have a real goal of legacy,” he said. “I think that’s a big thing – wanting to play in important games, play in the playoffs, make a deep run and, you know, play in that game if we get there. That’s big for me. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Jacobs, at a venerable 26 years old, also can’t help but notice that he’s one of the Packers’ elder statesmen on offense. With veterans David Bakhtiari and Aaron Jones gone this offseason, 28-year-old Elgton Jenkins is the only projected Packers starter on offense that’s older than Jacobs. Nearly all the Packers’ skill-position players are in their first, second or third NFL seasons entering 2024.
“I’m one of the oldest guys on the team,” he said. “I don’t take that really lightly. Coming in and you’re seeing these guys, especially these young receivers on the cusp of being a players in this league, and being the face and being in a household staple, and being able to help guide them and teach them little things about what I do or what I see to help them elevate their game to the next level. I think that’s a part of the reason why they brought me in here.”
Jacobs admits he still roots for the Raiders, but “obviously not when we play them,” he said. (The Raiders and Packers are not scheduled to face each other in 2024.)
He’s also very close with one of his former teammates whom Packers fans know well, Davante Adams.
When Jacobs signed with the Packers, he sent Adams an eyeball-emoji text, asking him if he planned to follow Jacobs back to Green Bay. Considering the trade rumors that had floated around Adams, it certainly could have been a loaded question, even if Jacobs insists it was all in good fun with his buddy.
“Me and Davante, you got to understand the relationship we have,” Jacobs said. “We joke around with each other a lot. We talk about certain things. Basically, when I sent him the eyeballs, it was more so about how crazy life works out. He leaves there and goes to the Raiders, and I’m going there. That’s kind of just what we was talking about.”
But for now, Jacobs said he’s just learning to adjust to a far different pace in Green Bay than existed in Vegas, noting that it has put more of his focus squarely on football, which he believes is ideal in his new setup.
It’s so quiet, it’s peaceful,” he said. “Every time I think about (Green Bay), I just think football; I think about locking in, I think about perfecting my craft. Hopefully, everything I do this year and (have) been doing this offseason pays off.”
