It seems like pretty much everyone agrees Josh Jacobs should have won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Well, everyone outside of those actually voting for the award, that is. Those guys gave it to Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, and by a large margin of 26.5 to 13. Even a tight win for Murray would have been a shocker. But an overwhelming margin seemed like it had to be a mistake.
Well, it was a mistake. Though perhaps not in the voter fraud way, but simply that Murray was absolutely not the correct choice. Jacobs was. The voters are hearing it from some unexpected sources too. For example; Shannon Sharpe. The Hall of Fame tight end and current co-host of Undisputed was asked if the voters got it right. He didn’t hesitate in his response.
“Nope Josh Jacobs should’ve won it,” Sharpe responded, pointing to Jacobs’s stats that put him among the league’s elite backs despite playing through a broken shoulder and missing three games. He also pointed to the Raiders win totals (7), which Jacobs played a critical role in securing.
"Josh Jacobs should've won it." #Raiders pic.twitter.com/hMfIu6ycuz
— Raider Posts (@RaiderPosts) February 3, 2020
It’s worth noting the source here. Sharpe made his Hall of Fame career over 12 seasons with the Broncos. He cut his teeth hating the Raiders as a bitter rival and the Raiders hated him with a passion. Mainly because he would rip them because he’s one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. For him to say with strong conviction that a Raiders player was snubbed for an award is notable.
Jacobs put up 1150 yards and 7 touchdowns in 13 games last season. Murray’s numbers were fairly pedestrian for a starting NFL quarterback and the Cardinals pulled out just five wins, a two-win improvement from 2018.
Outside of NOT getting injured, there’s nothing more Jacobs could’ve done to prove he was worthy of the award. And that injury occurred in week seven, so he played seven games with it before it became too much to bear.