Joshua Cordell Jacobs (born February 11, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

and was selected by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

in the first round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

. Jacobs rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, while being named to NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019 and to his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

in 2020. In 2022, he led the league in rushing yards with 1,653 and became the first Raider since 1985 to surpass 2,000 scrimmage yards. After five years with the Raiders, Jacobs signed with the Packers in 2024.

Early life

Jacobs attended

McLain High School McLain High School for Science and Technology is a high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was named after 20th Century US Army Lieutenant General Raymond S. McLain. McLain Magnet High School is one of eleven high schools in Tulsa Public Schools. ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. During his

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career, he had 5,372 yards and 56 touchdowns for the Titans. He committed to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

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 Kia Corporation (, formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry (京城精密工業) and Kia Motors Corporation) is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second larges ...

commercial that aired during

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...

College career

As a freshman at Alabama in 2016, Jacobs split time with

Damien Harris Damien Harris (born February 11, 1997) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was a two-time national ...

and

Bo Scarbrough Bo Scarbrough (born September 29, 1994) is an American former professional American football, football running back. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide football, Alabama Crimson Tide before a four year National Football Leagu ...

, rushing 85 times for 567 yards and four

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. 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 The 2018 SEC Championship Game was played on Saturday, December 1, 2018, in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, to determine the 2018 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the East Division champion Georgia a ...

against the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

after rushing for 83 yards with two touchdowns.

College statistics

Professional career

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

2019 season

The

selected Jacobs in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the

, a pick that was acquired from the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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 The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on ''

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

''. 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 The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, he rushed 12 times for 99 yards as the Raiders lost by a score of 28–10. Three weeks later against the

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the home of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur in North London, replacing the club's previous ground, White Hart Lane. With a seating capacity of 62,850, it is the List of football stadium ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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

, he rushed 21 times for 124 yards in the 42–24 road loss. Two weeks later against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, 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 Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

's old record of 697 in a nine-game season. In the next game against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

on ''

Thursday Night Football ''Thursday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''TNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:15 Eastern Time (8:20 prior to ...

'', Jacobs rushed for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown and caught five passes for 30 yards. In Week 11 against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

, 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 The NFL Top 100 Players of 2020 is the tenth season in the NFL Top 100 series. It premiered on July 26, 2020 and the final episode aired on July 29, 2020. It started later than in previous years, and the show was shown in 4 consecutive days inste ...

2020 season

Jacobs made his return from injury in Week 1 against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. 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 The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

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 The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, 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 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

2021 season

Jacobs scored two rushing touchdowns in the Week 1 overtime victory over the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. In Week 16, against the Broncos, Jacobs had 27 carries for 129 rushing yards in the 17–13 victory. In Week 18, against the Chargers, he had 26 carries for 132 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the 35–32 overtime victory. He finished the 2021 season with 217 carries for 872 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 54 receptions for 348 receiving yards. In the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is an invitation to a tournament or a playoff berth awarded to a team or individual that does not qualify via an automatic bid. In some events, wildcards ...

, Jacobs had 127 scrimmage yards in the 26–19 loss to the Bengals.

2022 season

On April 29, 2022, the Raiders announced that they would not pick up the fifth-year option on Jacobs' contract, making him a free agent in the 2023 offseason. In Week 4, Jacobs set a career high in yardage in a 23–32 win against the Broncos where he ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns. In the following week against the Chiefs, Jacobs ran for a career-high 154 yards on 21 carries in a 30–29 loss. In the next game, against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, he had 20 carries for 143 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 38–20 victory. In Week 11, against the Broncos, Jacobs had 160 scrimmage yards in the 22–16 victory. The following week against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, Jacobs rushed for 229 yards, and had 74 receiving yards. He finished with a total of 303 scrimmage yards, and two touchdowns in the 40–34 victory, culminating in an 86 yard walk-off touchdown to win the game in overtime. For his performance, Jacobs won AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In the following game, Jacobs had 26 carries for 144 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a 27–20 victory over the Chargers. Jacobs was the NFL rushing yards leader with 340 attempts, 1,653 rushing yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns. In addition, he had 53 receptions for 400 receiving yards. He became the first player in franchise history to reach 2,000 scrimmage yards since Marcus Allen in 1985. On February 9, 2023, Josh Jacobs was awarded with the NFLs first Jim Brown Award at the NFL Honors. He was named as a Pro Bowler and first team All-Pro. He was ranked 12th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.

2023 season

On March 6, 2023, the Raiders placed the franchise tag on Jacobs. On August 26, 2023, Jacobs and the Raiders agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $12 million. In Week 4, Jacobs rushed for 58 yards and one touchdown and caught eight passes for a career-high 81 receiving yards during a loss to the

. In Week 9, Jacobs rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns during a 30–6 win over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Five days after the game, Jacobs was fined $21,855 for lowering his helmet to initiate contact. Jacobs suffered a quad injury, which left him out of the final four games of the 2023 season. He finished the season with 233 carries for 805 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns to go with 37 receptions for 296 receiving yards.

Green Bay Packers

2024 season

On March 14, 2024, Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the

. In Week 2, against the Colts, he had 32 carries for 151 yards in the 16–10 win. In Week 7, Jacobs rushed for 76 yards, and caught five receptions for 16 yards and his first-career touchdown reception, during a 24–22 victory of the

. In Week 8 against the Jaguars, he had 25 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the 30–27 victory. In Week 12 against the 49ers, he had 26 carries for 106 yards and three rushing touchdowns. In Week 14, against the Lions, he had another game with three rushing touchdowns. On January 2, 2025, he was named to the

2025 Pro Bowl Games The 2025 Pro Bowl Games was the National Football League (NFL)'s all-star game for the 2024 NFL season. This was the third year that the event consisted of skills competitions and a non-contact flag football game. The first block of skills comp ...

. In the 2024 season, Jacobs finished with 301 carries for 1,329 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns to go with 36 receptions for 342 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He had 121 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in the 22–10 loss to the Eagles in the

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

Personal life

Jacobs' younger brother, Isaiah Jacobs, is a running back for the UAB Blazers. Jacobs is of Filipino descent via

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

through his paternal grandmother, and has a portrait of her tattooed on his left hand. Jacobs is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bioAlabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, Josh 1998 births Living people Players of American football from Tulsa, Oklahoma American football running backs Alabama Crimson Tide football players Green Bay Packers players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players American Conference Pro Bowl players National Conference Pro Bowl players Asian American players of American football American sportspeople of Filipino descent