Raiders News: Mike Mayock Talks Scouting ROTY Contender Josh Jacobs

Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has put himself among the favorites for the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award, something that should not come as much of a shock to general manager Mike Mayock.

After all, it was Mayock who declared early on that the team was going to take the former Alabama star in the first round back in April.

Mayock went on The Rich Eisen Show on Friday and discussed how quickly he had determined Jacobs was going to be a Raider, revealing it took him less than one week into his Oakland tenure to become sold on the running back (around the 3:00 mark):

Jacobs had made a strong impression on Mayock in the 2019 College Football Playoff championship game, even in a 44-16 Crimson Tide loss. That night, Mayock put together a highlight reel of Jacobs so that he could show coach Jon Gruden the next day. 

"I walked into Jon's office and I said I want you to watch a guy, we're going to take him in the first round," Mayock told Eisen. "...To say he was on our radar early would be fair, and we tracked him all the way through the process."

For Mayock, he was impressed by Jacobs' ability to do a little bit of everything, whether he has the football in his hands or not:

"I think his lateral quickness, his ability to make people miss, his pass protection, his hands. And the cool thing is, it looks like the play is blocked for one yard and he gets four. And then it looks like you block it for four and he gets 10. If this kid takes care of all the details, he has a chance to be good."

Having a strong skillset is one thing. But Mayock and Co. also liked his makeup off the field as well.

"He said I just want to focus on football. I don't want any other distractions," Mayock said. "Now, in hindsight, how good does that look about the maturity of this 21-year-old man?"

The Raiders took Jacobs with the 24th overall pick, and the rest is history.

Jacobs has run for 811 yards—on 4.8 yards per carry—through his first nine games, good for fourth in the NFL. He is tied for fourth with seven rushing touchdowns while also adding 14 receptions for 132 yards in the passing attack.

With Jacobs' strong start, Oakland (5-4) has already surpassed its win total from a season ago (four). The Raiders sit just a half-game back in the AFC Wild Card race.