Yesterday morning I got to attend Training Camp for the second time this year. Thursday my wife and I took our 4-year-old and 2-year-old sons and our 2-month-old daughter. Due to the craziness of getting the kids ready and having to leave later in the morning, we didn't get sideline bleacher spots but had a good time watching from the end-zone bleachers even though it was hard to keep eyes on drills while keeping the kids happy. But yesterday, our oldest son and I were making the trip.  So we were able to find spots in the sideline bleachers, and I was able to be a little more observant with what was going on. Of course, my eyes have been glued to camp updates every day, so I knew of some things to watch and expect. But there was one unexpected highlight for me on Tuesday morning, and that was watching new running back, Josh Jacobs take hand-offs. 

Obviously in Training Camp, you're playing against your teammates. You're not tackling, you're trying your best not to hit hard, because even though you're trying to make an impression and in some cases trying to make the team, you don't want to hurt your teammate. Imagine being an un-drafted rookie linebacker who pops the high-dollar starting running back and injures them. Good luck getting on the coach's good side and making the team now. So, running back reps in team drills of course need to be taken with a grain of salt. However, those with the whistles do their best to judge when it's likely a ball carrier would have been stopped so they can stop the play. As I watched on Tuesday morning, it was quite impressive to see Josh Jacobs burst through the line and a crowd of defenders and not hear a single whistle or see a defender complain that they would've made the tackle had it been allowed.

Given that Josh Jacobs is essentially an Aaron Jones replacement, it's hard not to draw a bit of a comparison. One aspect of Jones' game that always impressed me was his ability to find the open space. He had excellent vision in finding that hole in the defense to take advantage of while he was in a Packers uniform. Josh Jacobs possesses some of those same skills.  With a 5'10" 223 lbs frame that's mainly built for power, you'd think Jacobs would be more of a "hit the pile and move it" type of running back. But he also shows an outstanding ability to find the hole quickly and make the cut to burst through the lane to daylight. 

When asked about Josh Jacobs after practice Tuesday, Jordan Love was quoted saying "When I hand the ball off to him, just watching him, the way he's able to get through those holes, find those holes, and his cutting ability in and out of the holes is crazy." He also complimented Jacobs' ability to make guys miss in the hole as well and said that he's going to be a hard player to tackle. 

Josh Jacobs doesn't have that Christian Watson speed but he's just got enough to break off a long run on his own. In team drills Tuesday, he broke off a long run down the right sideline that was a beauty to watch in person. In my lifetime the one Packers running back I would often see break off a huge run was Ahman Green. Green had several 60+ yard runs in his career including two for 90 and 98 yards. I think we have that now in Josh Jacobs where if he gets into open space 50-60 yards out, he could have the speed still to take it to the house. 

Translating to Success

We can hype up a player's wins in practice all we want, but it doesn't mean anything unless they get it done on the field right? Well, we won't find that out truly until we kick off in Sao Paulo on September 6th. But until then, we can predict. 

Let me put forward just one quick piece of personal appreciation already for Josh Jacobs by highlighting the picture above. If you're a top player on the team, you're often excused from bike riding before practice. You can ride in a vehicle to and from practice and not have to bother with fan interaction. That sounds bad but for some of those players, it's better that way so they don't have to either sign a thousand autographs or disappoint many fans by passing them up. But being a new top free-agent running back, Jacobs hopped right on a bike and embraced the tradition. That's a move to endear himself to the fans right off the bat and it's always appreciated. 

When it comes to my projection for Josh Jacobs this season, I think he will either get just passed 1K yards rushing, or he will fall just short. Say what you want about Derek Carr, but with Carr at the helm and Josh Jacobs getting around 250 or above rushing attempts, he was breaking 1K yards. Jacobs' best season, he hit over 1600 yards. The difference between 2022 and other seasons is Carr then had Davante Adams to throw to. With a top receiving weapon on the offense as well and a pretty decent quarterback, Josh Jacobs showed out. If you put Josh Jacobs with Jordan Love and the Packers' complement of young receivers, I think we could see around 1200 yards or more. 

The caveat though, is rushing attempts. Josh Jacobs hasn't split carries with anyone really in his career. He's kind of been Las Vegas' bell cow. In Green Bay, I believe Matt LaFleur will want to keep him fresh and will split his carriers amongst the other backs. Especially if AJ Dillon and Marshawn Lloyd end up being productive themselves. Dillon is apparently in the best shape of his career and Lloyd has had some good practices as well. So, they will be in the mix for carries. 

Nonetheless, as I said before, the talent alongside Josh Jacobs is going to help him get back to dominant form. He'll have the benefit of a good Quarterback in Jordan Love and a complement of several receivers capable of hitting 1K yards through the air themselves. 

We know, we know, it's practice. But if that small sample is even a sliver of what we can expect from Josh Jacobs, he is going to have a great season and will be a Packers fan favorite in no time.