Josh Jacobs proving Packers were right to replace Aaron Jones with him

Josh Jacobs has been everything the Packers could have hoped for and then some.

There were probably mixed feelings among the fanbase on March 11, 2024, the day news broke that the Packers were signing Jacobs and releasing franchise legend Aaron Jones. Jacobs is more than three years younger than Jones, but the latter was still productive when healthy entering his age 30 season, beloved by everyone inside 1265 Lombardi Ave. and a future first-ballot Packers Hall of Famer.

The Packers asked Jones to take a hefty pay cut, but he declined. General manager Brian Gutekunst prioritized the organization’s long-term future at running back — Jones probably had only one year remaining on the team if he stayed — while Jones signed with the division rival Vikings. Green Bay signed Jacobs to a four-year, $48 million deal, making him the fifth-highest-paid running back in the league in terms of average annual value.

Fourteen weeks into the season, it’s clear the Packers (9-4) made the right decision in replacing one of the best running backs in franchise history with one of the NFL’s best running backs right now.

Not 1.
Not 2.
But TD No. 3 for Josh Jacobs!

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— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 6, 2024

Just read how special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who coached Jacobs with the Raiders, talks about him.

“Off the field, he’s got a tremendous sense of people,” Bisaccia said recently. “He’s got a character about him that can understand, have empathy for other people’s stories and other things that they’ve been through and so when he sits in somebody’s locker or is in the cafeteria … he’s been through an ordeal himself (growing up homeless), so I think he has the ability to relate to a lot of different things that players may go through.

“As far as football goes, I still think we’re just scratching the surface with Josh Jacobs. In this building, we’re all just learning about what the young man’s makeup is. He is a real-deal running back. He’s built to carry the ball, he’s built to catch it, he’s built to protect and he loves football. He loves the grind of practice, he loves the grind of mental preparation, he loves the grind of playing in games. What you see from him in games is the way he practices. That’s the way he practiced when we were together before and that’s the way he practices now and I think because of the example he set in practice, they have gotten a certain amount of respect for him and for what he’s going to do in the games.”

Jones was invaluable in the locker room for the Packers. That might’ve been the biggest unknown in replacing him from an outsider’s perspective, how Jacobs would fill Jones’ presence off the field. According to Bisaccia, that hasn’t been a problem. Jacobs has also talked about his mentorship of rookie third-round running back MarShawn Lloyd, who has battled four different injuries that have sidelined him for parts of the preseason and most of the regular season. Jacobs said recently he makes Lloyd ride to practice with him every day to ensure his mind stays sharp.

On the field, Jacobs has been a star.

The 26-year-old ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards (1,053), tied for fourth among running backs in rushing touchdowns (11), eighth among running backs in yards after contact per rush (3.45), fourth in carries (239) and hasn’t fumbled in the last 11 games after doing so in each of the first two.

Josh Jacobs has forced 7 missed tackles tonight, creating 38 yards and a touchdown after missed tackles.

Jacobs currently leads the NFL in missed tackles forced this season (84), including 32 over his last three games.

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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 6, 2024

“One thing about Josh is, and he’s proven so far this season, is he can sustain a lot of contact,” tight end Tucker Kraft said. “He has great contact balance. He gets hit a lot and something … I was new last year so — this is a disclaimer — I wasn’t here with Aaron whenever he was making his runs as a great running back in the NFL. All I’ve seen from Josh so far this year is he can sustain and play through more than what I was able to see out of Aaron.”

Jones has hardly been a bum for Minnesota, but he hasn’t been quite as productive as his Green Bay replacement, with 118 fewer total yards and six fewer touchdowns. And Jacobs just brings something different to the Packers’ running game, a physicality that has, in a way, shifted Green Bay’s identity. He has three games with 25 or more carries in his first 13 games with the Packers. Jones had one such game in 102 career games with the Packers in the regular season and playoffs.

“I’d say they’re both different players, for sure,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “Aaron’s more of a slasher. He can make plays. They both make plays in the pass game, but he’s more of a slasher, more of an outside zone guy. Josh is more of a downhill runner. They both do a very good job breaking tackles, but the way Josh runs, like you said, it’s just a little more physical from that standpoint.”

Not only has Jacobs been productive, but also he’s been available after a season in which Jones missed 11 games with multiple injuries. Jacobs wasn’t exactly a pinnacle of health during his first five seasons in the NFL, only playing a full season once with the Raiders. Yet in his debut campaign with the Packers, Jacobs has appeared in every game, only missing one carry at the end of a Week 8 win over the Jaguars and a brief stint against the 49ers while in the locker room resolving his cramps.

Jacobs only ran for four touchdowns in his first 10 games. It took him until Week 5 to find the end zone. But just like takeaways sometimes come in bunches, so too have Jacobs’ scores. He’s found paydirt seven times on the ground in the last three games, five times of the 1-yard variety and two others from 6 and 4 yards. You can thank Jacobs for the Packers going from 29th to 12th in red-zone touchdown percentage over the last four weeks.

“I just like believing in myself, man,” Jacobs said Thursday night after running for three more touchdowns in the low red zone against the Lions. “I like giving the extra effort. I know, like at the end of the day, if it’s one guy, two guys, I still like me. So that’s why I just try to come in and give coach the confidence to keep handing me the ball in the red zone.”

Head coach Matt LaFleur was asked after Jacobs carried 26 times in Week 12 if he thought about the running back’s workload with a game coming four days later on Thanksgiving.

“One guy that I don’t worry about is Josh Jacobs,” LaFleur said. “That guy is an animal. He is a dog and a dog competitor. He definitely relishes those opportunities.”

There might have been some worry about how Jacobs would work in Green Bay, especially since his arrival accompanied the departure of a fan favorite.

Whatever worry existed has vanished, as Jacobs has established himself as a pivotal piece for the organization on and off the field for the present and future.