In today’s NFL, the MVP award is generally reserved for a quarterback with great stats on a winning team. This leaves all of the other skill position players on the offensive side of the ball feels like they are vying for the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) award entering any given season.
Well, one NFL analyst named Green Bay Packers RB Josh Jacobs as his long-shot candidate to win OPOY in 2025.
Josh Jacobs Named as Long-Shot Candidate to Win OPOY in 2025
Bucky Brooks of NFL.com nominated a multitude of long-shot candidates to earn year-end honors for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, where he named Josh Jacobs as his option to potentially win the OPOY award.
Brooks wrote, “The former NFL rushing champ changed addresses in 2024, but his dominance continued with his new team. Jacobs finished sixth in rushing yards (1,329) and produced the fourth-most rushing touchdowns (15) in his debut season with the Packers.”
Some NFL fans questioned the move to part ways with veteran RB Aaron Jones in favor of signing Jacobs in free agency after the Alabama product posted career-low rushing marks (805 rushing yards at 3.45 yards per carry) during his final season with the Las Vegas Raiders, but Jacobs erased all of those doubts by exploding in his first year in Green Bay.
The Packers relied heavily on Jacobs last year after franchise quarterback Jordan Love sustained an injury in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, which was evident by Jacobs’ 32 rushing attempts for 151 yards the following week against the Indianapolis Colts.
Jacobs’ 16 total touchdowns at the RB position were amongst the elite producers at the position, but still feels a bit overlooked due to the big seasons we saw from Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia and Derrick Henry in Baltimore.
If Jacobs manages to produce an encore performance in 2025, it would be hard to ignore him as an OPOY candidate this season.
What are the Expectations for Josh Jacobs in 2025?
Speaking of the 2025 NFL season, can Packers fans really expect Jacobs to be even better this year?
Brooks added, “Although the seventh-year pro is more of a grinder than a big-play specialist at this stage of his career, he could put up ridiculous numbers in an offense that added Matthew Golden, a perimeter playmaker with home run potential, via the draft. If defenses are forced to focus on limiting the explosive plays from Jordan Love and Co. through the air, Jacobs could quietly pick up 2,000 scrimmage yards as a crafty runner/receiver in Matt LaFleurâs offense. ”
The presence for a vertical playmaker could help force opposing defenses into more split field, two-high safety schemes to limit the impact of explosive plays from Matthew Golden, but the team did have Christian Watson on the roster last season — who can absolutely fly when he is healthy.
The potential increase in numbers is probably more contingent on the level of play we see from the offensive line — who added G Aaron Banks this offseason — and Jordan Love making the leap into the top 5 at the QB position to help elevate this offense into elite territory.
Jacobs will be the primary ball carrier of a productive offense, which could give him plenty of scoring opportunities to help build an OPOY-worthy resume.
If things fall optimistically for the Pack, then Jacobs does feel like an outside contender for the OPOY award in 2025.
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