The Raiders are one of the few teams in the NFL where their quarterback isn’t the most valuable player on the roster. After moving on from Derek Carr this offseason, Jimmy Garoppolo will be their Week 1 starter in 2023. But he is not their most important player (and probably not No. 2 or No. 3 either).
So that begs the question; who is the most important player for the Raiders going into the 2023 season? The good news is that the Raiders have plenty of choices and all of them are elite players.
In a recent article by Pro Football Focus, they wrote about every team’s most important non-quarterback going into the 2023 NFL season. For the Raiders, that was All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs. Here is what the site had to say about the former first-round pick from Alabama:
Jacobs had an incredible year as the focal point of the Raiders’ offense in 2022. His 1,653 yards, 91.9 rushing grade and 90 forced missed tackles all led the NFL. It wasn’t all volume, either, as Jacobs 4.9 yards per carry was a top-10 mark among backs with at least 150 carries.
Jacobs’ production is the key to a Raiders offense still trying to find its way under Josh McDaniels.
Jacobs led the NFL in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage last season, so you can make a pretty strong case that he’s the most valuable player on the team. He was the heart and soul of their offense last season as his tough running kept them in a bunch of games.
But both Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby are elite players at far more impactful positions. That isn’t to take anything away from Jacobs, as he is clearly one of the best running backs in the league. But in terms of most valuable, that honor probably belongs to Crosby or Adams.
The Raiders need all three players to perform at elite levels again this season if they want to have any chance of competing in the AFC West. And even then, that might not be enough as the rest of the roster is relatively weak. If the talent around Crosby, Adams, and Jacobs can improve in 2023, they might have a chance to make a little noise in the AFC.
