Oakland Raiders: DeAndre Washington could be odd man out
By Brad Weiss
The Oakland Raiders suddenly have a very crowded running back room, and DeAndre Washington could be the odd man out this summer.
In the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected Texas Tech running back DeAndre Washington. During his time at Texas Tech, Washington finished up his career as the school’s fifth-leading rusher, and led the Big 12 in rushing during his final season with the Red Raiders.
As a rookie, Washington played a large role for the Raiders, appearing in all but two games, while making two starts. He racked up nearly 500 yards on the ground, while averaging 5.4 yards per carry, a significantly high number for an NFL running back.
Since his rookie season, Washington has seen his role get smaller and smaller, appearing in 25 games over the last two seasons. Last season, he appeared in a career-low ten games, caught one pass, and averaged under 4.0 yards per carry.
He has been utilized less and less for the Raiders, and in 2019, he may find himself to be the odd man out of the running back rotation.
The Raiders used one of their three first round picks on Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, so you know he is going to be one of the feature backs in this offense in 2019. Doug Martin was brought back after a strong first season in Oakland, and Jalen Richard proved himself to be one of the better pass-catching running backs in the NFL last season.
Rounding out the group, Chris Warren III makes his return after missing all of last season with an injury. Warren led the NFL in rushing during the preseason, and has a nice blend of speed and power.
When it comes to the position group as a whole, look for Washington and Warren to be battling it out for the final running back spot on the 53-man roster this summer.
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There is no doubt that Washington is an exciting player, and does plenty of things well. However, with the addition of Jacobs, and the team bringing back Martin for another go-around, his time as an option in this Raiders offense may be coming to an end this summer.