Josh Jacobs

Joshua Jacobs (born February 11, 1998) is an American football running back for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL).

As a freshman at Alabama in 2016, Jacobs split time with Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, rushing 85 times for 567 yards and four touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2017, he had 284 yards on 46 carries with one touchdown.

After the season, it was revealed that he had been playing on a broken ankle for most of the season.

As a junior, he was named the MVP of the 2018 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs after rushing for 83 yards with two touchdowns.

He played college football at Alabama and was selected by the Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Jacobs attended McLain High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

During his high school football career, he had 5,372 yards and 56 touchdowns for the Titans.

He committed to the University of Alabama to play college football.

Jacobs was homeless in middle school.

At the end of his rookie season in the NFL, he was featured reflecting on his homeless experience in a Kia commercial that aired during Super Bowl LIV.

The Oakland Raiders selected Jacobs in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, a pick that was acquired from the Chicago Bears in the September 2018 Khalil Mack trade.

He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on July 9, 2019.

Jacobs made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.

In the game, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns and caught one pass for 28 yards in the 24–16 victory.

In the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he rushed 12 times for 99 yards as the Raiders lost by a score of 28–10.

Three weeks later against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Jacobs rushed 26 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 20 yards in the 24–21 win.

One of his touchdowns was the first in the new stadium.

During Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, he rushed 21 times for 124 yards in the 42–24 road loss.

Two weeks later against the Detroit Lions, Jacobs rushed 28 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–24 victory.

After the eighth game of the season, Jacobs set the Raiders rookie record for rushing yards in a season with 740, surpassing Marcus Allen's old record of 697 in a nine-game season.

In the next game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Jacobs rushed for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown and caught five passes for 30 yards.

In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 112 yards in the 17–10 win.

In Week 13 against the Chiefs, Jacobs rushed 17 times for 104 yards in the 40–9 loss.

During the game, he became the first running back in Raiders' history to rush for 1,000 yards in a rookie season, despite missing three of the last four games of the season due to a shoulder injury and skin infection.

Jacobs finished the 2019 season with 1,150 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.

He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team, as well as the PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year.

He was ranked 72nd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.

Jacobs made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers.

During the game, Jacobs rushed 25 times for 93 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the Las Vegas Raiders' 34–30 victory.

Jacobs also contributed several key plays in the passing game with 46 yards on four receptions.

In the following week's game against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, Jacobs recorded 105 all purpose yards (88 rushing, 17 receiving) during the 34–24 win.

In Week 5 against the Chiefs, Jacobs rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the 40–32 win.

In Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, Jacobs rushed for a career-high 128 yards on 31 carries in the team's 16–6 win.

In Week 9 against the Chargers, Jacobs rushed for 65 yards and a rushing touchdown from 14 carries in the team's 31–26 win, making Jacobs the new franchise leader in rushing yards through his first two seasons.

In Week 10 against the Broncos, Jacobs rushed 20 times for 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns during the team's 37–12 win.

In Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Jacobs recorded 114 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown during the 30–27 overtime loss.

In the 2020 season, Jacobs finished with 273 carries for 1,065 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 33 receptions for 238 receiving yards.

He was named to the Pro Bowl.

He was ranked 68th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.