Bet the UNDER on Josh Jacobs' Rushing Yards Prop for Raiders in 2022

The Oakland Raiders did something very weird in last week’s Hall of Fame Game. They gave Josh Jacobs, their starting running back, five carries and two receptions – high volume for a player you’d think they want to save. 

There’s been some speculation since the game that Jacobs is on the trading block, but head coach Josh McDaniels shut that talk down. 

“JJ’s a guy we know what he’s done. We have a lot of confidence in JJ. He did well with his opportunities. We have no desire to do (trade him) at all,” said McDaniels to Anthony Galaviz of the Fresno Bee.

Even with McDaniels’ vote of confidence, Jacobs is a player you should fade this season. 

Josh Jacobs Rushing Yards Prop Totals (Should Bettors Go OVER or UNDER?)

DraftKings Sportsbook has his season long prop for rushing yards set at 750.5, with -115 odds on both sides. I’m easily taking the UNDER this year and there’s not much McDaniels can say that would sway me otherwise. 

Jacobs’ rushing yard totals have dropped each year since his rookie season, coming in under 1,000 yards in 2021. The last two seasons have also been terrible when talking about efficiency. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry in 2020 and 4.0 yards per carry in 2021. Jacobs hasn’t been the back he was in his rookie season for two years now and I don’t expect a revival with the Raiders passing attack expected to be the driving force of the offense. 

On top of that, Las Vegas’ backfield is extremely crowded. Jacobs has to compete with Kenyan Drake, who will get a lot of snaps as a pass catcher, and Zamir White – the Raiders’ fourth round draft pick. 

White is going to be involved in the offense somehow, taking even more snaps away from Jacobs. 

With an offense that’s geared to throw, a three-back committee and an inefficient history to consider, I’m out on Josh Jacobs this season. 

You can find Donnavan Smoot’s full betting record here.