![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Josh-Jacobs.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Josh Jacobs #8 of the Green Bay Packers reacts in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers in the game at Lambeau Field on November 02, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Green Bay Packers<\/a> decided to run it back at running back with Josh Jacobs this offseason.<\/p>\n Despite rumors heading into the offseason that the Packers could consider parting ways with Jacobs to save money, Brian Gutekunst still views the veteran running back as a focal point of the 2026 offense. Jacobs will be back next season, but the team should begin planning for the future.<\/p>\n Jacobs is coming off of a 2025 NFL<\/a> season that saw his numbers fall off a bit. He played in 15 games, but did deal with injury issues in multiple appearances. He carried the football 234 times for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.<\/p>\n Back in 2024, Jacobs put up much bigger numbers. During that season, he racked up 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns on 301 carries.<\/p>\n At 28 years old, there is a chance that Jacobs is starting to feel the effects of age. It would be wise for Green Bay to consider bringing in a young running back in the 2026 NFL Draft later this month.<\/p>\n Packers Predicted to Land Potential Josh Jacobs Replacement<\/p>\n Jacob Westendorf of On SI has predicted that the Packers will land that potential running back of the future. In his latest mock draft, he has Green Bay selecting Arkansas standout Mike Washington Jr. with the No. 84 overall pick in the third round.<\/p>\n \u201cWashington could represent some insurance for Marshawn Lloyd as a rookie as a change-of-pace back to Jacobs before potentially taking over for Jacobs as the full-time starter if the Packers move on from Jacobs at the end of the 2026 season,\u201d Westendorf wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n Washington is known for his dynamic speed and playmaking ability. He ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.<\/p>\n Being able to bring him onboard and let him play a backup role for a year would be ideal. Washington would then have a chance to be the heir apparent to Jacobs down the road.<\/p>\n What Would Mike Washington Jr. Bring to the Packers\u2019 Offense?<\/p>\n The Ringer\u2019s Todd McShay shared a breakdown of Washington\u2019s game. He also compared the Razorbacks star to current NFL star Kenneth Walker III.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to find a good comparison for Washington\u2019s size and speed,\u201d McShay wrote<\/a>. \u201cHis game has shades of Kenneth Walker III; they are both powerful runners with great speed, and there were also concerns about Walker\u2019s pass blocking coming out of college.\u201d<\/p>\n During the 2025 college football season with Arkansas, Washington carried the football 167 times for 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry and also caught 28 passes for 226 yards and a score.<\/p>\n Washington would bring elite size and speed. He will be the first Razorbacks running back who has been drafted since 2018. The Packers make a ton of sense as a potential destination.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEvan Massey<\/a> Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst located in Indianapolis, Indiana who covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, and college sports. He has been featured on many publications, including Newsweek, Athlon Sports, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, and many others. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son. More about Evan Massey<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Packers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Josh Jacobs #8 of the Green Bay Packers reacts in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":860462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2072],"tags":[7,41,345,2514,2513,6,428],"class_list":{"0":"post-860461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-green-bay-packers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-green-bay","10":"tag-green-bay-packers","11":"tag-greenbay","12":"tag-greenbaypackers","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-packers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116367876723582143","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}