Packer Central

Josh Jacobs: Packers Need ‘Proven’ No. 1 Receiver

Talking to Milwaukee radio station 97.3 The Game on Wednesday at the Super Bowl, Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs looked ahead to 2025 and his connection with a military hero.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) and receiver Dontayvion Wicks (13) celebrate a touchdown against the Jaguars.
Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) and receiver Dontayvion Wicks (13) celebrate a touchdown against the Jaguars. / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers need “three pieces” in order to make the leap to the Super Bowl, running back Josh Jacobs told Milwaukee radio station 97.3 The Game from Radio Row in New Orleans on Wednesday.

One of those pieces needs to be a receiver.

“Obviously, we’ve got a really young group of receivers,” Jacobs said. “All can be really, really, really special, but I think personally we need the guy that’s proven to be a No. 1 already. So, somebody we know is going to be a little bit more consistent.”

When former Packers star Davante Adams – Jacobs’ teammate with the Raiders in 2022 and 2023 – was brought up indirectly, Jacobs said:

“If he come at the right price, tell him to slide.”

Jacobs was asked about Adams during a separate appearance on Up And Adams.

Jacobs had the same message about Green Bay's receiver corps on Pro Football Talk Live.

The message was not well-received by at least one teammate.

Signed in free agency last offseason, Jacobs and safety Xavier McKinney were supposed to help the Packers take the next step after reaching the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023. Both players were excellent, with Jacobs finishing among the league leaders with 1,329 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns, but the team lost its last two games of the regular season and was bounced in the wild-card round by the Eagles.

“Obviously, we keep hearing about how we’re the youngest team in the NFL,” Jacobs said. “You know, it’s going to be some growing pains with that. I think that we’re three pieces away from actually being in The Game. If not three pieces, we need a few guys to have that second-year type of improvement like they come in and ready.”

Jacobs went on to mention two superstar defensive linemen: former Raiders teammate Maxx Crosby and four-time first-team All-Pro Myles Garrett, who has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns.

“I think the culture is there. I think that the mindset is there,” Jacobs said. “Everybody has a winning mindset. Everybody is willing to come in each day and give it their all at practice to be able to commit to wanting to be great in this game. And that’s the thing that I appreciate the most.

“Obviously, I love my guy Maxx Crosby. I see Myles Garrett is out there.”

Jacobs said he’s reached out to both.

“Obviously, I can’t do too much, but I just be like, ‘Man, we would love to have you up here.’ Just putting it in their ear.”

Jacobs was at the Super Bowl as part of a USAA program that awarded SMMC Kevin Bennett and his wife a trip to the Super Bowl.

Bennett served in the Marine Corps from 1971 through 2004. He began as an infantry rifleman before retiring as senior enlisted advisor to the Commanding General Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va.  

He served 10 overseas deployments between Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Panama, Norway, and Saudi Arabia/Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

Bennett’s military awards include a Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia,) Kuwait Liberation Medal (Emirate of Kuwait) and a Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon. 

“He’s a guy that served in the Marines for 34 years,” Jacobs said. “He had trips in Kuwait and Afghanistan and 10 different overseas deployments. Those are guys that I feel like don’t get enough credit.

“He’s a real hero. He’s up there with the police officers and doctors and things like that, guys that are saving lives, that makes all of this, what we’re doing today, even possible. So, for me, it’s good for me to be able to give back to him, but hearing that he’s a Packer fan makes it a lot better.”

Jacobs this season joined LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and Ezekiel Elliott as the only running backs since 2000 with at least 800 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in each of his first six seasons.

Jacobs, the Ravens’ Derrick Henry and the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs were the only players this season with 1,500-plus scrimmage yards and 15-plus rushing touchdowns.

His 15 rushing touchdowns are tied for third-most in Packers history. He rushed for at least one touchdown in each of the final eight games of the season, tying Davante Adams for the longest touchdown streak in Packers history.

“You know what’s crazy is I felt like I left a lot out there. Like, I really could have had a way better year,” Jacobs said. “Just me looking back, I also had like a few touchdowns and probably a few hundred yards called back and like penalties and things like that.

“So, we’ll see, but I think everything is out there for me. Obviously, with the weapons that we have, with the group of guys, with the play calls and everything, everything is out there for me. So, for me, it’s just about going in and putting my spin on the game and try to be as productive as I can.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.