The Las Vegas Raiders completely revamped their running back room this offseason, using two draft picks on runners in the 2022 NFL Draft. They also added two veterans in Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah in free agency.
The expectation entering training camp was that Josh Jacobs would be the starter and Kenyan Drake would be the passing down back. However, Drake hasn’t been able to stay healthy in camp and he might have been passed on the depth chart by another veteran.
According to Albert Breer of MMQB, he believes that Abdullah will play the “James White” role in the offense for the Raiders. Meaning, Abullah will be the running back on the field in obvious passing situations.
3) Camp revelation: Journeyman Ameer Abdullah. Raiders have depth at RB. But Abdullah's carving out a real role—the "James White" spot in McD's O.
4) Kolton Miller's rock solid at LT. Elsewhere on the OL? Lester Cotton's a sleeper. RT (Leatherwood, Eluemonor, Munford) a big ?.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 12, 2022
Abdullah was a second-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2015 NFL Draft, but he’s never had a lot of success as a pure runner. However, he’s been a fantastic receiver throughout his career, catching 119 passes for 865 yards.
While it’s possible that Abdullah could steal that role, nothing is locked in yet. Drake and Abdullah are both expected to play against the Vikings in their upcoming preseason matchup, so keep an eye on who comes in on obvious passing downs during that contest.
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