Joshua Cordell Jacobs (born February 11, 1998) is an American professional football running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. Jacobs rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, while being named to NFL All-Rookie Team in 2019 and to his first Pro Bowl in 2020. In 2022, he led the league in rushing yards with 1,653 and became the first Raider since 1985 to surpass 2,000 scrimmage yards. After five years with the Raiders, Jacobs signed with the Packers in 2024.
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Early life
Jacobs attended McLain High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. During his high school football career, he had 5,372 yards and 56 touchdowns for the Titans. He committed to play college football at the University of Alabama.
Jacobs experienced homelessness in middle school. At the end of his rookie season in the NFL, he was featured in a Kia commercial reflecting on his experience with homelessness, which aired during Super Bowl LIV.
College career
As a freshman at Alabama in 2016, Jacobs split time with Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, rushing 85 times for 567 yards and four touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2017, he had 284 yards on 46 carries with one touchdown. After the season, it was revealed that he had been playing on a broken ankle for most of the season. As a junior, he was named the MVP of the 2018 SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs after rushing for 83 yards with two touchdowns.
Professional career
Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders
The Oakland Raiders selected Jacobs in the first round with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, a pick that was acquired from the Chicago Bears in the September 2018 Khalil Mack trade. He signed his four-year rookie contract with the team on July 9, 2019.
Jacobs made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. In the game, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns and caught one pass for 28 yards in the 24–16 victory. In the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he rushed 12 times for 99 yards as the Raiders lost by a score of 28–10. Three weeks later against the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Jacobs rushed 26 times for 123 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 20 yards in the 24–21 win. One of his touchdowns was the first in the new stadium. During Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers, he rushed 21 times for 124 yards in the 42–24 road loss. Two weeks later against the Detroit Lions, Jacobs rushed 28 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–24 victory. After the eighth game of the season, Jacobs set the Raiders rookie record for rushing yards in a season with 740, surpassing Marcus Allen's old record of 697 in a nine-game season. In the next game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Jacobs rushed for 71 yards and the game-winning touchdown and caught five passes for 30 yards. In Week 11 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacobs rushed 23 times for 112 yards in the 17–10 win. In Week 13 against the Chiefs, Jacobs rushed 17 times for 104 yards in the 40–9 loss. During the game, he became the first running back in Raiders' history to rush for 1,000 yards in a rookie season, despite missing three of the last four games of the season due to a shoulder injury and skin infection. Jacobs finished the 2019 season with 1,150 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team, as well as the PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was ranked 72nd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
Jacobs made his return from injury in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers. During the game, Jacobs rushed 25 times for 93 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the Las Vegas Raiders' 34–30 victory. Jacobs also contributed several key plays in the passing game with 46 yards on four receptions. In the following week's game against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, Jacobs recorded 105 all purpose yards (88 rushing, 17 receiving) during the 34–24 win. In Week 5 against the Chiefs, Jacobs rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns in the 40–32 win. In Week 8 against the Cleveland Browns, Jacobs rushed for a career-high 128 yards on 31 carries in the team's 16–6 win. In Week 9 against the Chargers, Jacobs rushed for 65 yards and a rushing touchdown from 14 carries in the team's 31–26 win, making Jacobs the new franchise leader in rushing yards through his first two seasons. In Week 10 against the Broncos, Jacobs rushed 20 times for 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns during the team's 37–12 win. In Week 15 against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football, Jacobs recorded 114 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown during the 30–27 overtime loss. In the 2020 season, Jacobs finished with 273 carries for 1,065 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 33 receptions for 238 receiving yards. He was named to the Pro Bowl. He was ranked 68th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2021.
Green Bay Packers
On March 14, 2024, Jacobs signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Green Bay Packers. In Week 2, against the Colts, he had 32 carries for 151 yards in the 16–10 win. In Week 7, Jacobs rushed for 76 yards, and caught five receptions for 16 yards and his first-career touchdown reception, during a 24–22 victory of the Houston Texans. In Week 8 against the Jaguars, he had 25 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the 30–27 victory. In Week 12 against the 49ers, he had 26 carries for 106 yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 38–10 home win. In Week 14 against the Lions, he had another game with three rushing touchdowns. On January 2, 2025, he was named to the 2025 Pro Bowl Games. In the 2024 season, Jacobs finished with 301 carries for 1,329 rushing yards and a career-high 15 rushing touchdowns to go with 36 receptions for 342 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. He had 121 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in the 22–10 loss to the Eagles in the Wild Card Round. He was ranked 33rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025.
From Weeks 4–7, Jacobs had three consecutive games with two rushing touchdowns, with the first two games going over 150 scrimmage yards as well. In the 2025 season, Jacobs finished with 234 carries for 939 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns to go with 36 receptions for 282 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
Career statistics
Personal life
Jacobs is of American descent with Filipino descent through his paternal grandmother, a native of Angeles City. He has a portrait of her tattooed on his left hand. He plays with the Philippine-flag stickered onto his helmet and has a tattoo of the Philippines' eight-rayed golden-yellow sun on his left biceps.
Jacobs' younger brother, Isaiah Jacobs, played running back for the UAB Blazers from 2020 to 2025.
Jacobs is Christian.
On May 26, 2026, Jacobs was arrested by the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department in Brown County, Wisconsin, stemming from an incident on May 23. He was booked on five domestic battery-related charges. On May 27, Jacobs was released from jail with the investigation remaining pending.
