Breaking down why RB Josh Jacobs is Raiders' biggest offensive threat to Broncos' defense

He might not have the hype, but Josh Jacobs is Oakland's not-so-secret weapon.

And here we go… the 2019 NFL regular season is finally here, folks. 

There is possibly no better way to start off the season for Broncos Country than to open up Monday night against Denver’s most hated rival, the Oakland Raiders. Despite the two teams being down over the past few seasons, and the Raiders being down for what feels like two decades, this rivalry is still replete with two components that make any football rivalry fun — hatred and history.

The Broncos have been the better team in recent history, but Denver has failed to win in Oakland in three straight seasons. Playing what is likely the Broncos' last ever game at the Oakland Coliseum, baseball diamond on the playing surface and all, it would be great to get one final victory before leaving the pit that is the Black Hole forever.

Vegas has the game at pretty much a dead heat, likely given that both teams have overturned so much of their roster over the past season. The Broncos have changed about as much as any team in the league, from new coaches and schemes on both sides of the ball, new players, and of course a new quarterback, but the Raiders have made some changes as well. On defense the Raiders used two first-round picks to help fortify a feeble defense, drafting edge rusher Clellin Ferrell and safety Johnathan Abram in the first round.

The defense will still be poor in Oakland this year, but the offense has a chance to finish as one of the better units after obtaining highest-paid right tackle in NFL history in Trent Brown, trading for the dynamic wide receiver Antonio Brown (who despite his whirlwind of a crazy offseason is still electric on the field), and signing the underrated receiver Tyrell Williams to boot. Derek Carr is playing for his contract this year in Oakland and is a viable quarterback, especially surrounded by better weapons like he will be this season.

For the Broncos, their strengths (and weaknesses) match up with Oakland for the most part. Denver has not had a good or better offense since 2014, but has been able to roster some of the best defenses in the NFL for the last few seasons. 

The Broncos defense should be even better this season given the additions they made to the coaching staff and the roster this offseason. These additions deserve to spring hope for the fanbase, but the defense still does have a weakness on paper; the linebackers.

In today’s pass-heavy league, the linebacker has become a somewhat diminished value position. An ‘average’ player there can be fine and more than capable if employed correctly and surrounded by a solid defensive front and a good secondary. 

There just aren’t many five-tool linebackers that can play the box, possess great pursuit to make plays outside of the box, blitz up the middle, and play both zone and man coverage at a high level. Those players are rare and are valued and paid as such. The Broncos do not have any player close to that level, but that is okay. 

The Broncos defense can still be great, but make no mistake, opponents will gameplan to pick on the second level of the defense, both in the run and pass game. Denver isn’t alone in this area of weakness as there is no greater disadvantage in coverage in football than a linebacker against a playmaker in space. The New England Patriots have made a decade of offensive firepower scheming for that matchup.

This isn’t anything new for Denver, as even during the Wade Phillips years the Broncos were great at edge rusher and cornerback (and good along the interior defensive line) but a notch below at linebacker as well as safety. No team has All-Pros at every position given the parameters set up to keep the league competitive, but Denver did about as good as any team could do during their Super Bowl run on defense. Times have changed, the defense has regressed to the mean a bit, but speed and talent in the middle of the field is still a concern.

This is a big reason for tight ends killing Denver over the past few seasons. Not only are the Broncos weaker there, but NFL opponents aren’t stupid. Why throw the ball at a receiver covered by Chris Harris, Jr. when there is another, much more efficient option available? 

It’s a double whammy leading to some of the offensive explosions the team has seen the past few seasons against tight ends. The Raiders, however, do not have a great tight end on paper entering the season.

Darren Waller is being heralded as a freak athlete and weapon for the Raiders. The former wide receiver, with 6-foot-6 size and athleticism to boot. However, Waller has only hauled in 18 catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns for his entire career to date.

Athletic potential is one thing, but translating it to the field is something else entirely. The Raiders no doubt will still try to utilize Waller against the Broncos’ dinged up linebacker corps, but really it shouldn’t be the tight end position the Broncos are concerned with going into Monday Night.

Josh Jacobs is a weapon

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

With the 24th overall pick in the 2018 draft, the Oakland Raiders picked running back Josh Jacobs from the University of Alabama. Listed at 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, Jacobs has prototypical size and solid measurables for being a bell-cow in a league that is splitting carries for role backs more than ever. 

However, in a league where it’s chastised for selecting the devalued running back position round one, Jacobs is going to have to be much more than a role back in the league, and his tape at Alabama showed that he can be just that.

Despite only garnering 299 touches for 2,062 yards and 21 touchdowns during his three playing years in Tuscaloosa, Jacobs became the first running back selected in the 2018 draft. Even though Jacobs has less tape than most backs entering the league, in the modern NFL, that might actually be a great thing as he has far less wear and tear than the typical back from a bigtime program such as Alabama. 

He will be fresh and have plenty of bullets left in the chamber, so to speak. There will be concerns about how he maintains his running efficiency with more touches, but that likely won’t be a factor until later in the season.

What Denver must respect in Jacobs

Jacobs, while not a super explosive player with the ball in his hands and only running a very average 4.6-second 40 at his pro day, is a complete, three-down running back. Running well from shotgun or an under center offense, inside our outside the tackles, Jacobs has good vision on tape and is diverse and versatile in how he was able to pick up yards for the Crimson Tide. 

Despite lacking top-end speed, Jacobs runs extremely hard and is a menace to bring down in the open field, showing great change of direction, balance, and power to shrug off any soft tackle attempts. He runs hard and will make defensive backs pay for not tackling cleanly in the open field even if he isn’t running away from them to the endzone. 

He is powerful, but really it’s the balance he shows that is impressive. Guys just slide off him it seems. If it was just his running ability, Jacobs likely would have been a day two pick, but that was not the case.

Jacobs is also a dynamic player in the open field and a weapon in the pass game. While still developing as a route runner, Jacobs had little to no problem beating linebackers and safeties in space in the SEC, turning into a true multi-purpose weapon for Alabama. 

Whether down the field up the seam, or out of the backfield, Jacobs provided a good option for Tua Tagovailoa to pick up easy yards. He displayed soft hands and the ability to transition with ease from route runner to running back when bringing in the football. 

He is not Christian McCaffrey, who might be the best slot receiver in the NFL playing the running back position as well, but he could be an Alvin Kamara or Le’Veon Bell type in the pass game if he is to reach his potential.

Jacobs is a real receiving threat, but he brings more value in the pass offense as he brings his angry demeanor from his run game to how he handles himself as a pass blocker. Efficiency and tenacious, he can be used as an extra blocker or offer some extra help as a chip block, only to slip out into space and be given the ball with room to run. 

The Takeaway

Again, running back is a devalued position in today’s NFL, but backs who bring everything to the table like Jacobs will always be in demand, especially on their rookie contracts.

The fanbase constantly worries and complains about the linebackers in coverage for the Broncos’ defense, pointing at the likes of George Kittle and Travis Kelce killing the team in the pass game over recent seasons. This likely may still be an issue this season, but fans should be just as prepared to have issues with running backs in the pass game as tight ends. 

Again, the Patriots have made almost a decade of football isolating linebackers against tight ends and running backs (and sometimes slot receivers) in space to maximize their passing efficiency as there really is no greater advantage than picking on a linebacker in coverage in space. 

With Vic Fangio in town, the Broncos will hopefully be better schematically to combat these issues, but Josh Jacobs could provide enough of a challenge to keep everyone on edge entering the matchup against Oakland on Monday Night.

Follow Nick on Twitter @NickKendellMHH and @MileHighHuddle.