The Green Bay Packers, Josh Jacobs and Pass Pro

A lot of digital ink has been spilled in the running back room in Green Bay this offseason. None of last year’s key running backs will be playing this year, either due to a release (Aaron Jones) or injury (AJ Dillon). They signed Josh Jacobs as a free agent and it looks like he’ll get the bulk of the action. Rookie MarShawn Lloyd and second-year player Emanuel Wilson will also be in the mix, but this seems to be the Josh Jacobs show.

Today we’re focusing on an important aspect of being a successful running back: pass protection. Yes, a running back actually has to be effective to be useful on a case-by-case basis, but it can be difficult to run an offense effectively when a running back isn’t good at passing. One only has to look back as far as the 2023 Wild Card win over the Cowboys to see how much it helps to have a running back who excels in the passing game.

Admittedly, this can be a tall order, but it’s a nice reminder of some of the highlights.

We’re going to focus on what Josh Jacobs looked like in the passing game in the second half of 2023. It’s a small sample size, but there’s a reason I did this. I wanted to see what he did in his final season, because replays from three years ago may not reflect who he is at this point in his career.

However, the Raiders offense was a mess for the first half of the year for Josh McDaniels’ reasons. If most of the offense was in disarray, would these reps tell me much? I decided they probably wouldn’t, so I started with Week 9. At that time, Antonio Pierce took over as head coach and the team as a whole seemed to be playing with a little more fire than it did under McDaniels.

The PFF grade seems to reflect that as well. Under McDaniels, Jacobs had a pass blocking grade of 56.2. Under Pierce, he had a pass blocking grade of 60.4. Normal caveats with PFF grades and small sample sizes and such, but I thought we should at least address this.

It should be noted that while 60.4 is better than 56.2 (MATH!), it’s still not a great grade. Does what I saw reflect that? Let’s dive in.

Let’s start with the good. Jacobs has been in the league for 5 years and knows exactly what to do in the passing game. We’ll get to that later, but it’s hugely important. Whether he’s reading inside to outside or chipping at the rim, he reads what the defense is doing well and is in the right place.

As you can see in some of these replays, he is also able to use some muscle power. This is encouraging and certainly gives you something to dream about. However, there are many more clips where this doesn’t happen.

This part of his game is passive and comes out more often than you’d like to see. It’s not always his downfall, but if he doesn’t keep putting in the effort, you’re sure to see an attacker get around him with ease on occasion.

Most of the missed shots are the result of that passivity. He’s where he needs to be, but he’s not quite in the right position because he’s trying to lean a little bit. If a defender is able to avoid that passive passing play, bad things can happen. It’s ridiculous how many times I’ve said “just stick your nose in there” while watching Jacobs pass.

I don’t want to sugarcoat it: the majority of his film was poor in terms of results. But there is one bright spot, and I mentioned it right at the top: Jacobs knows where he should be. His problem is not that he doesn’t know the task: sometimes he is simply passive. That is technique and commitment, not knowledge. That can be trained.

The optimist in me believes we will see more use in the pass-pro portion of Jacobs’ game on the current Packers team than we saw in a chaotic situation with the Raiders last year. If they can refine that part of his game, I believe he has everything he needs to become a successful back in pass protection.

Albums listened to: Sabrina Carpenter – Short and sweet; Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – Forest; Smashing pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the endless sadness