Tag: Raiders running backs

Raiders to make change at running back

Four games into the season, the Raiders are making change at running back

For the first time this season the Raiders running game got something going. After three games averaging 51 yards rushing per game, they eclipsed their entire total from the first three games in this game alone.

They did it, in part by spreading out the defense sideline to sideline, utilizing sweeps and reverses. But the funny thing was, even with the sudden success they had, it didn’t seem to improve how starting running back Zamir White played.

Take a look at these yards per carry numbers:

DJ Turner — 18 ypc (TD)
Alexander Mattison — 12 ypc
Brock Bowers — 12 ypc
Tyreik McAllister — 5.5 ypc
Tre Tucker — 3 ypc (TD)
Zamir White — 2.8 ypc (fumble)

Coming into this game, the Raiders had the worst yards per carry in the league. They were averaging 2.8 yards per carry…same as White had in this game.

The bulk of the yards gained were by Alexander Mattison. The veteran had three of the top six longest plays of the game on runs of 24, 18, and 16 yards and finished with a team-leading 60 yards on just five carries.

White’s performance remained status quo for him this season. On top of that, he fumbled the ball away that was returned for a touchdown.

Mattison’s numbers may have took a leap in this game, but mainly that’s because he just hasn’t gotten a lot of touches. He got 12 carries combined in the first three games and 19 total touches. Despite his low touches (24), he leads the team in touchdowns (three) and has just one fewer yard from scrimmage than White who has 30 more touches (54).

Monday, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce acknowledged Mattison’s performance and said a change is coming.

“He’s deserved more reps,” Pierce said of Mattison. “And he’ll get them.”

Pierce said the same of guard Jackson Powers-Johnson last week and then Powers-Johnson started Sunday’s game and played every snap.

Zamir White scores another preseason TD

Las Vegas Raiders running back Zamir White is having a good preseason and is expected to play immediately as a rookie when the regular season begins

Former Georgia Bulldogs running back Zamir White is having a strong preseason with the Las Vegas Raiders. White is anticipated to see immediate paying time when the regular season starts. White will likely share carries with Raiders running back Josh Jacobs this year.

The Las Vegas Raiders selected Zamir White in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL draft. The Raiders are expecting big things out of White during his rookie season. White’s emergence helped Las Vegas feel comfortable cutting NFL veteran running back Kenyan Drake.

Zamir White scored a touchdown for the second consecutive week of the preseason. The former Georgia standout looks strong and rarely goes down at initial contact.

Here’s a look at Zamir White’s first quarter touchdown against the New England Patriots:

The Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New England Patriots 23-6 to wrap up their preseason. Zamir White finishes the NFL preseason with 26 carries for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Las Vegas opens the NFL regular season on Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

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Josh McDaniels explains why Raiders made running back a priority in free agency

Raiders made several moves at RB in the first couple days of free agency. Josh McDaniels explains why that was ‘critical’ need.

Anyone who paid close attention to the Raiders’ roster coming into this offseason would tell you their top needs were wide receiver, right tackle, cornerback, and defensive tackle.

You could take it a bit farther, and add guard, center, and linebacker as well.

Most of those positions were addressed this free agency, but one position that got a somewhat surprising amount of early attention was that of running back.

Even with starting running backs Josh Jacobs and Kenyan Drake returning along with former undrafted free agent Trey Ragas and fullback Sutton Smith, new head coach Josh McDaniels still prioritized the position, restructuring Drake’s deal to keep him, and adding Brandon Bolden, Ameer Abdullah, and fullback Jakob Johnson all within the first two days of free agency, making for a pretty crowded running back room.

“That’s a position that’s hard to stay healthy, it just is,” McDaniels said of running back. “They touch the ball more than everybody but the quarterback, and they get hit more than anybody.

“We have a couple of guys that are rehabbing now and so to have depth in that room is important because if you don’t have quality depth in the running back room today in the NFL, a lot of times you’re going to run into some issues and some injuries you know, and then you get caught in trying to make a quick transaction during the middle of the season.

“So, we’ve always tried to have as much depth in that room as we can. I think it’s a position that it’s really critical to have good players, but it’s also really good to have good depth that you can plug in there and they can serve a lot of roles.”

Seven running backs is a lot to be carrying at this time of the year when there are no practices happening. Usually, one or two of the backs added in the offseason come either from the draft or undrafted free agency. We’re still a month off from that.

Drake was lost in week 12 of last season, so you figure when McDaniels talks about backs who are rehabbing, he’s speaking of him. Jacobs fought through an ankle injury much of last season, but he was still running well even into the playoff game, so you’d figure by the time the team takes the field for any actual practice, he should be fine.

It’s clear McDaniels is taking the approach that you can’t have enough running backs, figuring by the time training camp is over, one or more of them will go down with an injury. And it’s getting priority or positions that are either less likely to suffer injuries or are more easily replaceable on short notice.

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