Josh Jacobs Fantasy Football Outlook 2022 (Will His Usage Increase?)

Josh Jacobs has been the Las Vegas Raiders' starting running back since he was a third-round draft pick in 2019. Facing little to no competition for starting duties, Jacobs made fantasy managers proud last year by finishing as the RB12 in PPR formats, averaging 15.1 points per game.

Having said that, Jacobs could've had a better showing. Though his snap count increased by eight last year, he saw 56 fewer carries than he did in 2020. Now, fans are wondering if that was just a one-off blip or if that'll be the norm for the Tulsa, OK native in 2022 and beyond.

Josh Jacobs Fantasy Football Outlook

Jacobs saw a total of 217 carries over 15 games last year, converting them into a career-low 872 rushing yards, along with nine touchdowns. On the other hand, he did catch 84.4% of his 64 targets for 54 receptions and 348 yards.

The good news for potential Jacobs owners is that he could easily bounce back this year. For starters, the Raiders' newly improved offense puts them in a position to be leading more often, opening the door for more favorable game scripts for their leading RB.

The Raiders also improve their defense this offseason after surrendering 25.8 points per game (No. 26) in 2022. If the defense plays as well as it looks on paper, that should also increase the possibility of Jacobs seeing more rushing opportunities later in the game.

Josh Jacobs Projections

Projections from the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook are about average on Jacobs. He presently owns +3000 odds to pace the league in rushing yards, placing him in a five-way tie for the 15th-best odds. On top of that, he's available at +3500 (T-No. 22) to be the NFL's rushing TD leader.

It also turns out that FanDuel is low on Jacobs' projected rushing yards total, which is set at just 749.5 with -102 odds on the over while the under sits at -126. This may come as a surprise for some fans since he's hit the over in each of his first three NFL campaigns.

After averaging four yards per carry last year, Jacobs would need to see about 188 carries to hit the over for this prop (assuming the trend continues). So, unless the Raiders give 30 more carries to Kenyan Drake, I don't see Jacobs having an issue surpassing 750 rushing yards.

Is Josh Jacobs a Good Fantasy Football Pick?

Jacobs has been a reliable fantasy football pick more often than not, but it's clear that his projections on FanDuel are a bit worrying. It also doesn't help that the Raiders own the sixth-toughest 2022 NFL schedule, according to ESPN's Mike Clay.

As of right now, Fantasy Pros lists Jacobs as the RB20 in PPR formats. He also carries an average draft position of 41.4, which falls right in the middle of the fourth round in 12-team leagues.

Taking all that into consideration, I'd probably avoid drafting Jacobs unless you already have one or two other starting RBs on your roster. Though the potential campaign for a solid year is there, I am worried about his opportunities dropping again as it remains to be seen what his usage will look like under Josh McDaniels.

Oh, and if you drafted Jacobs as one of your top RBs then you might want to check out the best Josh Jacobs fantasy football team names for your squad too.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.