Trent Richardson to Break Out With Oakland Raiders
May 26, 2015; Alameda, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Trent Richardson (33) catches a pass at organized team activities at the Raiders practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Bottom Line
The Raiders offense was dead last in the NFL last year because quarterback Derek Carr had nothing around him. There were no receivers that could get open and the tight end only got open when defenses forgot to cover him. The offense needs some punch so while improving the offensive line, the drafted a big-time receiver and tight end.
Murray broke some big runs at the end of the season but didn’t do anything McFadden couldn’t do. He goes downs as a result of arm tackles and he’s the worst in the NFL at making tacklers miss. That’s why the Raiders aren’t sold on Murray, leading Richardson to tell Raiders.com, “[Del Rio] He said he isn’t going to promise me anything, but if I come in and work, I can be that bell cow.”
Del Rio knows he wants to play smash-mouth football and Murray isn’t smash-mouth type of runner. He either needs perfect blocking or a defense to overpursue because once a defender shows up, he’s down. Richardson has been playing in offenses he didn’t fit and not well but still, he breaks tackles and makes guys miss.
He’s been the King of turning 3-yard losses into 3-yard gains since he’s come into the NFL. You can kill all that about Roy Helu being a 3rd-down back to because Richardson is a good receiver and he’s even better in space. We also saw last year that Murray isn’t very good in short yardage as Richardson is one of the best.
That’s three of the phases of being “that bell cow” and the fourth is blocking, something Richardson also does well. You know he’s embarrassed about his career to date after coming out of college so highly touted too. The Raiders are lucky to get this type of talent, having so much to prove, making up the perfect Raiders reclamation project.
He told ESPN’s Mike Wells, “”I’ll be one of the top running backs from here on out. They ruled Marshawn Lynch off in his third year. Look at what he’s doing now. My next stop, I’ll be the starter. I still have my pride and I know who I am.”
Richardson is going to be special with the Raiders, it may not be a popular opinion, but I see a resurgence in a player that everyone around the NFL is writing off in Oakland.