The Las Vegas Raiders hired a new regime this offseason with Dave Ziegler coming over from the New England Patriots to fill the general manager role. He brought Josh McDaniels along with him to be the head coach as they look to do what so many before them have failed to do; rebuild the Patriots’ success elsewhere.
One of the more surprising moves that they made was declining the fifth-year option on all three first-round picks from the 2018 NFL Draft; No. 4 pick Clelin Ferrell, No. 24 pick Josh Jacobs and No. 27 pick Jonathan Abram. Abram has already been cut and Ferrell is a rotational player along the defensive line. Jacobs, however, has been an integral part of the team’s offensive game plan.
He has looked like a player motivated to show that he was not only worth being kept on that fifth-year option, but earning an even bigger contract now that he will be a free agent. It could end up being a blessing in disguise having his option declined as Jacobs is putting himself in line for a monster contract during the 2023 offseason.
Jacobs is currently leading the NFL with 1,303 rushing yards on the season. His 86-yard touchdown run in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 was the longest run of the season. He currently has the most touches in the league with 284 and is making the most of them with a league-high 1,634 scrimmage yards.
The former Alabama product is certainly producing at a high clip and creating plays for the Raiders’ offense. In one statistic, he has put a huge gap between himself and the rest of the league as he has 85 first downs from scrimmage. The next closest are Tyreek Hill and Christian McCaffrey, who are tied with 64.
That is remarkably efficient work from Jacobs, who is getting the job done no matter what is being asked of him. He is running hard, already breaking his career-high for rushing yards in a season and is on pace to break his career-high for receiving yardage as well.
Las Vegas is certainly going to have to pony up some money to retain Jacobs in the offseason as he picked the perfect time to have a career season, entering unrestricted free agency in a few months.
