Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders

We continue on Radio Row inside the Phoenix Convention Center. Now joining us, this guy had a monster season for the Las Vegas Raiders. He, of course, is the great running back in Josh Jacobs. Josh, how are you?

I'm doing good, man. Thanks for having me. I appreciate you coming on and Josh is here on behalf of FedEx.

We'll talk about FedEx in just a moment. So, this year, and your first round running back, right? There's high expectations on you. You had a new coaching staff coming in. When you look back at this season, what made everything come together for you to have the best year? Oh, man, I think it was just, you know, being going into my fourth year, I think I finally learned how my body works.

And I think that was probably the biggest thing. I feel like, you know, in the past, in the offseason, I feel like I might have trained too much, you know, like to the point where I was getting in the middle of the season and I was feeling tired. I was feeling, like, you know, dead for real.

So, you know, just learning my body and, you know, how it responds to, you know, certain things and things like that. I mean, it helped me out. And I feel like this year has been a great year for me. And I feel like this year, it's up to like week 13, I was fresh. So, it helped out.

And, you know, it went the way it's supposed to. So, now you may be entering free agency. Who knows about the franchise tag? Like, what would your reaction be if the Raider slapped you with the tag? Man, you know, it's crazy because I've been asked that question that day and it's the first time I really just sat down and thought about it. You know, I haven't really had a chance to really process, you know, what that would mean and what that would even look like, for real.

Long-term extension. Do you want to get that done with the Raiders? Yeah, man. I mean, I want to be like, you know, kind of like how Kobe was, you know, you go to one team, you stay with that team and you leave your mark and your legacy on that team and then, you know, when it's time to wrap it up, you go about your business.

And that's kind of what I've always seen for myself, you know, just the kind of guy that I am, I feel like. And not only that, with the Raiders, you know, coming in, even with Max Crosby, I remember us, our rookie year used to sit down and talk about, you know, changing the culture and getting the program back to, you know, winning and things like that. And I want to be a part of that change. I definitely see them trending in the right direction and hopefully they allow me to be a part of it.

Yeah, trending in the right direction. The perception, though, I think, Nashly, about the Raiders right now, because two years ago, you guys had a crazy season with things that no one could even imagine before entering a season. This year, new coaching staff, you regressed. Now Carr, we know, is on his way out of town.

The perception of the Raiders in your eyes, you being there every day, is what? Great team, man. Great team. Great coaching staff. I mean, if you look at the games that we played, I mean, besides two games, I think we lost by like five points or less every game. You know, so that means we're literally in every game.

You know, it's just about putting the fine details on, you know, fine-tuning and putting the details on the little things and being able to come out with the wins. And I see it in the team that we had last year. Obviously, we didn't do what we were supposed to do, but I definitely see it trending in the right direction.

It's a business, and you know that probably better than anyone right now with your future like we're talking about. Derek Carr is on his way out. Does that upset you, or is it just like, hey, it happens in this league? Man, it just lets you know that, man. You could be a nine-year vet on one team, you know, for nine years, and you feel like, you know, you created a home and things like that, and at the end of the day, it's still a business.

So it really, for me, it just kind of opened my eyes. With Derek Carr, what is the team getting moving forward? Like, do you look at him as, okay, that is a franchise quarterback that could win in this league? Yeah, man, he's definitely a guy that, like, you know, he's not going to have no problems. Like, everybody in the locker room is going to love him, first off, and I think that's very important. But he's just a good dude, man. He's going to come in, he's going to study hard, he's going to work his butt off, and he's going to try to give you what he has and who he is, and you don't have to worry about no off-the-field issues or anything like that. And man, like I say, he's just a great guy. He's one of them guys that I feel like I'll have a relationship with for the rest of my life. There was a lot of rumors that maybe Brady was coming to Las Vegas.

He retired. Were you disappointed when you saw the Brady retirement? Yes, I'm not going to lie. I was, just because of the fact that, man, Brady's, like, he's in the same category with Aaron Rodgers for me in terms of, it's just guys you want to be around, you know, guys that you want to see how they think or how they've been this good for that long. And, you know, just be able to pick their brain and be able to see, okay, he views this this way or he works this way and he takes care of his body this way.

It's just something that I wanted to, you know, be able to experience. Savvy move what you just did there. Talking about Brady. Brady now retiring. You bring up Aaron Rodgers.

That's, I see the smile right now. That's been the biggest rumor that Rodgers is going to get traded maybe to the Raiders. Let's say three, four weeks from now.

Josh Jacob's sitting around relaxing off-season. You still got to figure out what's going on with you. You get an alert. Aaron Rodgers traded to the Raiders. How would you react to that one?

I ain't going to lie. I feel like that changed a lot of dynamic for me, you know, especially with just like the contract talks and everything. I feel like, you know, when you bring a certain guys in the building, you're willing to do things a little differently.

So it's definitely, it's definitely will be a great day. If Rodgers hit you up and said, Josh, why should I want to go to the Raiders via trade? What would you say? I would say, man, first off, you have the best receiver in the game, you know, you in, you in Las Vegas, you know, a great market, no state taxes. Keep a lot of your money, you know, and then you got a group of coaches that are, that are very understanding that will allow you to, you know, play it or, you know, best, you know, ability, but also be who you are. So I think that that'd be a great fit for him. And you can get Devante Adams in this off season, like at his house with the boom box, like maybe come back, just get him down over to Las Vegas. They can reunite, man.

That'd be dope. We have a super fan listener, like a P one listener, Jane Alaska, and he calls us every Monday, Josh Jacobs. He's a huge Raiders fan.

He's a huge fan of yours. Guys got to start winning more though in Las Vegas because Jay, I don't like miserable phone calls from Jay. They're entertaining, but I want him to have some happy moments. Yeah, most definitely, man.

I mean, that's definitely on my bucket list. It's never, it's never fun to lose, man. And I'm one of them guys where, you know, I came from Alabama, a winning program and where you maybe won, you maybe lost one game a year. And, you know, just trying to come in and, you know, establish that same culture with the Raiders, man.

And hopefully, man, they get the right group of guys and, you know, in the building and they could do that for sure. It seems like Saban took the media chip out of your head because, you know, you come down here, you're very conversational, you're very honest about all this stuff. When Saban, I'll never forget Quinnen Williams, and he was about to trash Kyler Murray.

And I've talked to Q about this before, and he's like, Kyler is up, and then it's like Saban whispering in your head, you better not say anything. Yeah, I remember that interview. That was during the playoffs, right? Yeah, right up before it was Alabama, Oklahoma. Yeah, in Miami. Yeah, I do remember that.

That was dope. But yeah, man, Saban, man, they teach you that. A lot of people don't know. Like, when we come in, he has all the freshmen take, like, you know, speech classes and things like that. Oh, everyone knows.

Yeah, like, you know, financial class, literacy classes. Like, he's on top of all of that up there. You got to feel good for Jalen Hurts, right? Man, I'm happy for him, man, you know. Definition of class. Yeah, class, man. And, you know, he's been through, in his career early, he went through peaks and, you know, valleys, you know, with the whole tool situation and how he bounced back from net and, you know, never complained, never down talked to anybody.

Just went to work. Yeah, he's definitely the guy that I'm rooting for in the Super Bowl. Do the Eagles win it, though?

I say Eagles win it 28-24. Damn. You know, it's so funny you said that. I was thinking about the score today, and I'm doing, like, all the math.

Like, I'm in the shower. That's where I do my best thinking. I'm like, 28-24. That's what I- Eagles as well. That's what I was thinking.

That is dope. Hopefully we're not wrong, though. Hopefully we're not wrong. My rule on the show is if we have the same prediction and my producer has the same prediction and everyone's all on one team, the other team's going to find a way to win.

We're going to mush you or you're going to fade us because we get things so wrong. Tell me what you're doing today with FedEx. Man, yeah, so I'm with FedEx. Man, I just found out this morning, man, I won FedEx ground player of the year. Oh, congratulations.

Yeah, man, it's a fan vote, so you never know how it's going to go either way. Man, you know, I got the honor of winning it and being able to donate 20K to HBCU and, man, I decided to donate it to Langston University. It's actually the first college that I've ever been to growing up, like, in middle school.

It's the first college I've ever seen and experienced, you know, 30 minutes outside of where I'm from. So, man, just to be able to go back and donate to them is definitely huge. Josh, good luck moving forward. It's been so fun to watch you throughout the years and thanks so much for doing this. Appreciate it, man. Thanks for having me. Evan Matt talks with Matt Hardy.

There's nothing like a wrestling fan, you know, for better or for worse. How do you handle that, though? We're talking about people talking about your family, what they don't know about your family or your brother or you. How does one handle that from a day-to-day basis? Something I joke about with the Young Bucks all the time. I said, if you would vanity search Matt Hardy on Twitter, I said, after you got through 100 replies, you'd want to quit the business and never be seen again.

It's just, you just learn to deal with it, you know what I mean? It's the Kick Rocks! Wrestling Podcast with Evan T. Mack. Subscribe now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today.