Ashton Jeanty had the seventh most carries in the NFL last year (266), but it sounds like the Raiders might be moving into more of a timeshare in their offensive backfield this year.
Prior to the season, there were rumors that head coach Klint Kubiak was going to move away from the two-backs system he has utilized in the past, and Kubiak fueled some of that conversation by pointing to the role Christian McCaffrey has in the 49ers offense.
“I’ve said it before, I think it’s important to have a quality second back, but the best player has got to play, and we got to get them on the field as much as we can,” Kubiak said in May. “I don’t know the play snap percentage, but you look at Christian McCaffrey, his play snap percentage is high. So, those great backs, they don’t want to come off the field.”
But in recent days, Kubiak has sounded more like he will favor another running back by committee approach.
“[We] definitely want to have a two-man show there, guys that can share the load. It’s a long season. You don’t want to put all the carries and targets on one guy. Right now, we’re identifying guys who are available here in the draft, identifying free agents we might ago after, looking at our own roster and seeing who can take that,” Kubiak said in February.
“But it is important that [Ashton] Jeanty has a wingman, and it’s probably not going to be just one guy. So that will be really important to identify.”
Raiders GM John Spytek credits Kubiak with the Washington pick
After Monday’s press conference, we know now that Mike Washington Jr. was the running back Kubiak identified in the draft, and GM John Spytek essentially credited Kubiak with the pick.
“Klint deserves a lot of credit for drafting Mike Washington,” Spytek told members of the media on Monday. “He stood on the table for that at the start of Day 3, and this is the perfect scheme fit.”
Based on the way Washington performed in the preseason, it would seem Kubiak got the pick right.
One other nugget that was reported by Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter in April was Washington’s position on the Raiders’ draft board.
According to Carpenter, the Raiders had a second-round grade on Washington prior to Kubiak and company getting the Arkansas running back in the fourth round with the 122nd overall pick.
x: @raidersbeat
I figured it was pretty safe to say that the GM had nothing to do with any of our picks that show any promise. just look at what he didn’t do with the first pick off the waiver wire. Absolutely felonious.
Exactly, Brady’s boy offers us nothing.
Telesco with Kubiak & you have something.
If I was owner I’d tell Kubiak you get to pick your own GM this off season