The Las Vegas Raiders may have spent the offseason fixing a lot of holes, but one position group already looks a lot sturdier than it did a few months ago.
Running back has gone from a question mark to one of the cleaner parts of the roster after the Raiders opened training camp with their first three practices. That shift starts with the front office, which did a strong job of adding talent through free agency and the NFL Draft, and it shows up in a backfield that suddenly has real depth.
The centerpiece is second-year back Ashton Jeanty, and the Raiders used a fourth-round pick this year on Mike Washington to give him help. Klint Kubiak has said he wants Jeanty to handle most of the rushing work this season, but that doesn’t mean the offense should be built around one runner alone. Kubiak’s system is better when there are two backs who can carry the load without a noticeable drop-off.
Jeanty likes what Washington brings so far.
"I think just being two great rushers. It's always great to come out the game and have another guy come in there and there's no drop down. I truly believe he'll be able to help us win some games," Jeanty said following training camp.
"He's just getting better each and every single day. Obviously, he's got great burst, good footwork.
He's continuing to get better each and every single day. I love what I'm seeing from him and he's continuing to up the standard in the running back room and help make it a better room.”
Kubiak, though, kept the tone grounded. Washington is still a rookie, and the hardest part for young backs is often the protection side of the job. The staff is leaning into that by giving him plenty of reps, while also treating camp like a live competition.
“Mike is a rookie. A rookie back in the NFL is hard work, especially in the protection game.
So we're giving him a ton of reps there, and just keep him growing. It's a competition with Mike, with [Dylan] Laube,” Kubiak said.
“We have a lot of good backs here, and those guys also know they're always competing with the rest of the NFL's roster. It's not just our room, so just got to keep giving them reps and see who we can count on."
The group doesn’t stop there. The Raiders also drafted rookie Roman Hemby, who has flashed at camp, and Dylan Laube is back in the mix after earning a role on special teams and likely doing so again this season.
That gives Las Vegas a real shot at carrying four running backs on the 53-man roster. For a team that has spent years trying to find a backfield it could trust, that’s a major change. Jeanty, Washington, Hemby and Laube give the Raiders something they haven’t had enough of: options.
The team even moved on from running back Chris Collier on Friday, waiving him/injured, which only reinforces how confident the staff is in the four backs it already has. There simply isn’t much reason to keep five running backs around, especially on a rebuilding roster.
So while the Raiders still have plenty to sort out, running back no longer looks like one of the problems. The group is deeper, younger and more complete than it was before camp began, and now the real question is how Las Vegas will use that depth this season and beyond.
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