MANILA, Philippines – The National Football League (NFL) is welcoming its latest batch of rookies as the 2021 NFL draft is set to wrap up on Saturday, May 1 (Sunday, May 2 Manila time).
But what most Filipino NFL fans might not know is that there is actually a Filipino-American playing in American football's top-flight league.
Josh Jacobs, 23, plays as a Running Back for the Las Vegas Raiders. He was drafted in 2019 as the 24th pick in the first round.
He signed a four-year contract with the team.
Jacobs was named to the All-Rookie Team of the Pro Football Writers Association in his first year with the Raiders where he became the first rookie in Raiders' history to rush for a 1,000 yards in his rookie season.
However, the Fil-Am Running Back missed three of the last four games of the season due to injury.
In his second year in the league, Jacobs played and started in 15 of the 16 games for the season where he rushed 1,065 yards for the year.
He also had 12 rushing touchdowns which was an improvement to his seven in his first year.
In college, Jacobs was crowned the MVP of the Southeaster Conference Championship Game in 2018 where he led Alabama past the Georgia Bulldogs, 35-28.
With regards to his personal life, it was revealed that the Fil-Am athlete was homeless in middle school. This was featured during the Super Bowl LIV where he reflected on his experience in a Kia commercial.