GREEN BAY – It wasn't so long ago it looked as though the shine may have worn off veteran running backs in the modern NFL.
With more teams tailoring their offense to the passing game, a bear market is often what greeted the league's top ball carriers after they finally reached unrestricted free agency.
And then the 2024 offseason occurred.
Derrick Henry moved from Tennessee to Baltimore and rushed for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns while averaging 5.9 yards per attempt in his age 30 season.
Saquon Barkley changed NFC East allegiances, leaving the New York Giants for Philadelphia and becoming the ninth running back in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season.
While Aaron Jones had a solid year in Minnesota, his replacement in Green Bay, Josh Jacobs, reminded everyone what he's capable of en route to 1,329 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.
Suddenly, running the football seemed cool again.
"I feel like everything in football, and really in life, it comes full circle," Jacobs said. "Besides the quarterback, we touch the ball more than anybody else on the field, so we have the most opportunities to create and be special, so I'm proud of a lot of these guys who stepped up and showed their versatility and played good."
Jacobs earned a third selection to the Pro Bowl for his role in propelling the Packers into the top five in NFL rushing offense, the first time Green Bay has achieved that feat since 2003.
Yet, the 27-year-old running back still feels there was more out there for him and he's hellbent on extracting it during his second season with the Packers.
While Jacobs was one of the league leaders in rushing yards after contact, film study showed him plenty of instances where a 20-yard carry could have been extended into a 60-yard explosive play if he'd broken one more tackle or made one defender miss.
"I feel like I had a good year, but I feel like I still left a lot on the table," Jacobs said. "For me, it's just trying to come in and chase that No. 1 spot and raise a Super Bowl (trophy) at the end of the day. That's the only thing that's really on my mind."
Jacobs touched the ball 358 times while playing in all 18 games (including playoffs) last season but finished the year healthy, which allowed him to jump right into the offseason.
To keep the car on the road and foot on the gas, Jacobs prioritized conditioning in his workouts to build the "calluses" he'll need to navigate a long season.
The Packers also did their part in signing Aaron Banks, whom many considered to be the top free-agent guard on the market.
The 6-foot-5, 325-pound left guard knows a thing or two about blocking for premier running backs after having a front-row seat to Christian McCaffrey's NFL Offensive Player of the Year campaign in 2023.
Asked what he sees in Jacobs, Banks smiles while describing the Packers' bell cow with a single word.
"A dawg, honestly," Banks said. "Just watching him on tape, the way he can create in his runs and how physical and downhill he is. I think that the running back plays a big part in the success of the run game – not just O-line but the two together. So, yeah, I was excited to get to block for him."
Jacobs certainly had to work for his yards last season. According to TruMedia, the 5-foot-10, 223-pound running back ranked third in the NFL with 1,080 rushing yards coming after contact.
Some metrics had Barkley, the NFL's reigning offensive player of the year, rushing for more than 1,200 yards before contact last season thanks in part to an Eagles offensive line that had three Pro Bowlers.
The Packers feel strongly Banks' addition and sliding two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins to center will help clear the way for Jacobs and the rest of the backfield in 2025.
"I always tell them, 'Shoot, just get on somebody, I'll make you right.' Literally," said Jacobs of Green Bay's O-line. "I feel like it's a partnership at the end of the day. I can't do my job without them and when they do their job, I make them look good. So that's all part of it."
Jacobs' first season in Green Bay was bittersweet. He made his first trip to the postseason since 2021 but saw that ride end in a 22-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles.
The goal now is to get over that hump, as Jacobs recognizes he only has "so much time left" to make a run towards a Lombardi Trophy.
Last year, Barkley and a burly offensive line proved to be the difference for Philadelphia. Perhaps Jacobs and Co. could be the driving force to a deep Packers run this season.
"There's nothing worse than being on a team where you're rebuilding and it's like, 'OK, I want to be the best, but the best might not be good enough,'" Jacobs said.
"But with this type of locker room, where we've got pieces all over the board, offense and defense, it just makes that urgency get a little bit more intense, because the only thing that can really stop us is us. If we lock in on the things we need to do, if we put the work in, then we'll reap the benefits."
