Jack Del Rio is determined to bring “big boy ball” back to Oakland. The power run philosophy that Del Rio and general manager Reggie McKenzie have long favored received a shot in the arm in April with the addition of Marshawn Lynch – arguably the premier power running back of his generation.
According to Adam Caplan, the Raiders intend to deploy Marshawn as their primary back on first and second down and feature a third-down rotation of Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington and Jamize Olawale.
Latavius Murray averaged about 14 carries per game in 2016 and the Raiders will probably give a similar timeshare to Lynch – whom Caplan says the Raiders want to be their “finisher” in the fourth quarter.
The SportsBettingDime.com placed an over/under on Lynch’s rushing total at 1,050.5 yards. That’s a reasonable expectation since Lynch will share carries and hasn’t averaged more than 20 carries per game since his rookie season in Buffalo.
This will be, however, the best offensive line Lynch has run behind in his career and if he stays healthy, he should improve on Murray’s 12 rushing touchdowns from a year ago.
Then there’s his age.
The biggest “Beast Mode” concern (Lynch is over a year removed from football contact, but has 2,144 career carries) is his age. How will his 31 year-old body respond to another NFL season?
Time will tell, but for now, Lynch has plenty of bounce to his step… and Del Rio has provided proof.
— Jack Del Rio (@coachdelrio) June 6, 2017
If he can run like this for a full season, the Raiders could very well “big boy ball” all the way to the AFC Championship game – presumably in New England.
Maybe just pray it doesn’t snow.
twitter: @raidersbeat
