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Josh Jacobs is getting a little help from a former Alabama star as he looks to become the next Crimson Tide running back to make it in the NFL. Talking to reporters Thursday while at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Jacobs said he has been taking advice from Tennessee Titans running back and former Heisman winner Derrick Henry.
“He’s like a funny big brother, honestly,” Jacobs told reporters. “He makes a lot of jokes. But his work ethic when he comes back and he works out with us is just different. So, it just shows me the level of competition I need to be at. He gives me great tips and advice. Even on the game, whether he sees me need to slow down on a run or anything like that. He helps me out.”
Henry experienced a breakout season last year, rushing for a career-high 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns, including 585 yards and seven scores over his final four games. Those numbers came after two quiet seasons, splitting time with DeMarco Murray. Thursday, Jacobs said the biggest thing he has learned from Henry is to make the most out of every opportunity he is given.
“Making the best out of everything in practice. Because he was like one of the best practice players we ever had,” Jacobs said. “He was just telling me, ‘Grind hard in practice, and it will pay off.’”
Henry was selected by the Titans in the second round of the 2015 draft. The former Heisman winner was coming off a junior year that saw him rush for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns on a whopping 395 carries.
Jacobs, who is viewed by many as the top running back in this year’s class, will enter the league in a much different fashion. Splitting time with Damien Harris and Najee Harris in a loaded backfield last season, Jacobs rushed for 640 yards and 11 touchdowns while hauling in 20 receptions for 247 yards and three more scores through the air.
Through his three seasons at Alabama, Jacobs carried the ball just 131 times. Because of that, he believes he’s entering the NFL fresher than ever.
“I didn’t have any injuries this year. After games, I didn’t even have bruises and stuff like that,” Jacobs said. “I felt crazy good. I mean, that helps the longevity of running backs all around the league, so I definitely think it’s the new wave.”
Jacobs’ limited workload has drawn comparisons to Saints running back Alvin Kamara, who carried the ball just 210 times for Tennessee while in college. Kamara notched his second Pro Bowl season last year, tallying 883 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground while adding another 709 yards and four more scores through the air.
“I think if you gave the league a do-over on Alvin Kamara, whose touches are almost identical to Josh Jacobs, we’d see Alvin Kamara go in the top-10, top-15 if we were to redraft that year,” said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “So, if that’s the only concern you have about (Jacobs) — I don’t have any concern about that. He’s got vision. He runs with power. He can make you miss. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He can block. There's really nothing he can’t do. So, the knock on him that he doesn’t have touches, I can spin that and say that’s a good thing. There’s still plenty of tread on his tires.”
Jeremiah ranks Jacobs as the No. 6 player overall in his top 50 draft prospects. The former Alabama back is projected to be the first back taken in this year’s draft and has climbed as high as the middle of the first round in many mock drafts.
After not having a running back drafted in the first round of both the 2013 and 2014 draft, there has been at least one taken in the first round in each of the past four drafts. Last year, Saquon Barkley (No. 2 overall), Rashaad Penny (No. 27 overall) and Sony Michel (No. 31) were all selected in the first round.
“I don’t know how it will continue in the future, but I do know the importance of running backs,” Jacobs said. “Running backs literally do everything but throw the ball. So I know the game tried to kind of take it away from using them as much as it used to, but they’re using them a lot just in different ways.”
