Oakland Raiders: 3 Early breakout candidates for 2019

2. Josh Jacobs, RB

As I’ve mentioned before when talking about potential breakout candidates for other teams around the league, I’m not a big fan of saying that a rookie player is going to be a breakout player. Whenever you’re talking about a guy who is going from college to his first professional season, if he comes to the NFL and has any kind of success, that could be considered a breakout season.

Because of that, if I’m going to point out a rookie and say that they have the potential to be a breakout player, it’s due to the fact that they should not only have an impact on the team as a first-year pro but that they will be a key cog and highly productive player in the league right away. Such is the case with running back Josh Jacobs, who the Raiders used one of their three first-round picks on.

Overall throughout his final year at Alabama, Jacobs’ production doesn’t look all that impressive as he was the third guy in a committee. He finished the year with just 120 carries for 640 yards and 11 touchdowns along with 20 receptions for 247 yards and three scores. However, Jacobs came on strong at the end of the season, particularly in the postseason play. With that and going back and evaluating his film, he became the top running back off the board.

Whether or not you thought Jacobs was RB1 or not, what isn’t arguable is that the Raiders have him as RB1 on their depth chart. Despite their new receiving weapons, the old-school mentality of Gruden and this team means they are going to commit to the run and Jacobs is going to see the bulk of those touches. With little mileage and impressive traits, he could come out strong as a rookie and be an early leader to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.