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As we are inching closer to the start of the NFL regular season, fantasy football is just 3 weeks away!
Here at RotoBaller, we aim to provide you with as much knowledge and insight as possible to help make the best decisions for your teams on draft day and provide you with the tools to navigate your team through the season as best as possible.
One player who fantasy players can't seem to make up their minds on is Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. Currently, Jacobs is going as the RB20-22 in just about all formats and the Raiders made some significant upgrades to their offense this offseason. Let's take a look below at the possibility of Jacobs being moved before the season as well as his potential fantasy outlook for 2022.
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Will Josh Jacobs Still be with the Raiders for Week 1 of the NFL Season?
One polarizing player this offseason in the fantasy landscape has been Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs. The new regime in Las Vegas declined Jacobs's fifth-year option, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2023.
The team also has Kenyan Drake on the roster and drafted running back Zamir White out of Georgia in the 4th Round of the 2022 NFL Draft (122 overall).
Head Coach Josh McDaniels is expected to bring over the New England Patriots system, which as most fantasy players know can be a nightmare for fantasy running backs. The Patriots have typically carved out specific roles for their running backs and largely avoided the bell-cow type of running back altogether.
Due to the Raiders declining Jacobs's 5th-year option, there has been widespread trade speculation all summer, as well as what is Jacobs' fantasy outlook for the upcoming season.
While the Raiders have apparently been shopping Jacobs this offseason, it is more likely he remains on the Raiders for the 2022 season. Given that they already gave up their 2022 1st and 2nd round picks to trade for Davante Adams, the Raiders are pretty much "all in" on trying to win for 2022 even though it is just year one for their current regime.
It is also not likely the Raiders would fetch a first or even a second-round pick for Jacobs from any other NFL teams at this time given the state of how teams value and view running backs around the league.
One thing the New England Patriots have been famous for over the last decade has been with generating future draft compensatory picks. Given that Jacobs is likely to sign a new deal with a new team in the 2023 offseason that would likely be the highest of all free-agent running backs, the Raiders would likely gain a 2024 comp pick that would likely fall in the 3rd round.
Given how we know the Raiders want to push their chips in for the 2022 season, it's hard to see the Raiders moving him unless some team really sends in an offer that completely knocks their socks off. There is no sense in the Raiders taking less than a second-round pick for Jacobs when they can get a third-round pick back from the compensatory formula.
Josh Jacobs Fantasy Football Update
While many have been labeling Jacobs as a dead-zone running back for 2022, it's easy to forget that he finished as the RB14 in 2022 in half PPR formats while featuring a career-high in receptions with 54.
While Jacobs isn't going to likely finish as a top 5 RB for 2022, he is a good player who is still relatively young at 24 years of age, and still has some value to offer your fantasy teams.
Given the upgrades made to the Raiders' offense with the addition of McDaniels, they are a unit that is going to be very fun and explosive this season.
The offense features Derek Carr, Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams, Hunter Renfrow, and Darren Waller, which is an impressive array of skill players. Carr lead the NFL in passing yards last season, which should help to open things up for Jacobs even more should he stay on the field.
While we should be concerned about a possible committee, as well as Drake and White stealing snaps away from Jacobs, the Raiders offense should be good enough to possibly offset the lack of snaps with Jacobs likely still being the go-to running back for the Raiders in the red zone.
Jacobs only had 9 touchdowns on the ground last season along with 872 yards rushing and still finished as the RB14.
Is Josh Jacobs Worth Drafting For Fantasy Football in 2022?
In redraft leagues, Josh Jacobs is being drafted as the RB20 to RB22 in most formats with an ADP around the end of the 4th Round in 1QB leagues.
Due to the reality that the Raiders' offense will be even better for 2022, it is worth taking some chances on Jacobs for the 2022 season even though many are labeling him as a dead-zone running back.
While some have been avoiding him altogether, he is a running back still worth drafting at the right price. Jacobs has been a model of consistency during his three seasons in the NFL averaging over 1,000 yards per season, along with 9.33 rushing touchdowns.
While Jacobs wasn't featured much in the passing game in 2019 and 2020, he more than doubled his career receptions by hauling in 54 catches in 2021. This should give fantasy managers some degree of optimism about Jacobs' abilities as more than an early-down and short-yardage type of running back.
Josh Jacobs 2022 Fantasy Football Conclusion
There is a risk to drafting Jacobs this offseason. There is a chance he is stuck in a committee along with Drake and White, as well as the Raiders not living up to their lofty expectations in year one.
However, there is a saying that "a rising tide raises all ships." Given how good the Raiders offense should be for 2022, no one should shame us into wanting to get as many pieces of it as we can.
There is a chance Jacobs could see his ADP take a tumble before the season begins, which only makes his value all the more enticing.
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