The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves in a tough spot with Josh Jacobs. He showed what he can do when fully healthy, behind a steady offensive line, and of course, with Davante Adams on the outside. As Adams knows, when you’re surrounded by great talent, good things can happen.
The Raiders have a special thing going with Josh Jacobs and Davante Adams…
Due to multiple factors, Adams’ success with the Green Bay Packers was not imitated in Las Vegas. At the same time, it was evident that several players on the Raiders’ team greatly benefited from having “DA17” line up on Sundays with them. That’s not a shot at Jacobs’ previous teammates either, but it’d be an insult to compare Adams to the likes of Zay Jones and Bryan Edwards. The monumental shift in how opposing defenses had to prepare for Las Vegas’ offense was staggering.
Again, it was a team effort. It also helped that Josh Jacobs played in all 17 game; his first full season. He experienced career-highs across the board, including the number of games he played. Yards per carry (4.9), rushing yards per game (97.2), all while carrying the ball an average of 20 times each contest. On top of that, he equaled his touchdown total from 2020, his first Pro Bowl campaign, with 20.
Adams, too, is keenly aware of the jump that the Raiders running back experienced in their first year as teammates. More importantly, he acknowledged that he experienced something similar in terms of making an impact.
“The growth that I saw—obviously, I didn’t know him very well before [last season], not having been around him as much, but the growth that I saw from the previous year to this last year… I don’t ever want to take credit for anything, but I know that when you get around other people who are like you or who push you, it kind of brings the best out of you. It’s the Aaron Rodgers effect.”
DA17 quickly silenced a myth about him last season…
Davante Adams was thought to have been synonymous with having success in Green Bay because of Rodgers. He quickly dispelled that belief last year with Derek Carr and Jarrett Stidham at the helm, both clear downgrades from the former NFL MVP. Still, Adams accepts that he came into a great situation in Green Bay. In a way, it’s akin to Jacobs having a dominant force on the outside to take some of the pressure off. While speaking with Dan Patrick on his show, the Raiders wideout expanded on how having additional talent around you only helps your impact.
“I feel like having Aaron early in my career—his mindset, his work ethic, and honestly, the work ethic [which] is through the roof, but like I said, just the way he thinks about the game. The way he approaches it, it puts so much of the way he does it, you know, into my craft, and I was able to kind of steal things, and I think the same thing happened with both of us, you know, me and Josh. I feel like he helped me with some of that stuff. And it was great having another dog next to me out there, and vice versa.”
Clearly, Davante Adams wants Josh Jacobs back; that’s plain as day. More importantly, these two were feeding off of each other last season. As the Raiders rebuild under head coach Josh McDaniels, why on Earth would you want to disrupt that?
*Top Photo: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
