Josh Jacobs Gives Raiders a Glimpse of What’s to Come

Raiders fans have been waiting to see what Josh Jacobs can do. On Thursday night, he showed he was worth the wait.

The first-round draft pick out of Alabama didn’t play all that much in an exhibition victory over the Cardinals in Arizona, but he played with the other starters in a touchdown-producing opening drive and looked like the “every-down” running back the Raiders believe he is. He opened the game with three straight carries and finished his evening with four carries for 21 yards, with a longest run of 8 yards and an average of 5.3 yards per attempt.

The Raiders believe Jacobs can steady the offense and provide a lift as both a ballcarrier and receiver, and through training camp and his pro debut vs. the Cardinals Jacobs has been impressive.

Already, he’s feeling at home in the offense – though he wasn’t satisfied against Arizona.

“I was mad at myself because they should have been bigger runs,” he told Vic Tafur of The Athletic. “But I was just knocking off the rust and things like that. It (the game) is slowing down for me already. That’s the only way I can really explain it.”

Gruden says he just wanted to give Jacobs a taste of an NFL game for starters.

“I like him,” Gruden said. “He’s really picked up the offense fast. He’s improved in the passing game. We’re really excited about him. I wanted to keep him in and he wanted to stay in, but I think we’d seen enough.”