It’s that time of year again where we get upset about rankings. The NFL’s top-100 reveal started on Sunday night and that’s when the controversy started.
Coming in at No. 68 was Josh Jacobs, who has now put together back-to-back 1,300-yard seasons with the Raiders. He’s been a very successful NFL running back, as he has the third-most broken tackles in the league since 2019. However, not everyone was impressed by his ranking.
In a recent article by Alex Kay of Bleacher Report, he wrote about the biggest surprises in the NFL’s Top 100 list. Jacobs appeared in his article as he was shocked to see him ranked on the list at all. Here is a snippet of Kay’s thoughts on the former Alabama running back:
“Jacobs is a rather one-dimensional back, contributing little in the passing game and failing to create the type of home run plays that other high-scoring rushers often provide. His yards-per-carry average dipped from 4.8 as a rookie to 3.9 last year. While he improved somewhat as a receiver, Jacobs only mustered a middling 33 receptions for 238 yards in 15 games.”‘
While it’s true Jacobs hasn’t done a ton as a receiver, the Raiders like to give that work to someone else to keep him fresh. He is clearly a capable receiver, but it’s just not the way they want to use their former first-round pick.
Is Jacobs ranked a bit too high? That is certainly up for debate. But his status as a top-10 running back is pretty much a lock given how well he has played over the last two seasons.