Oakland Raiders: Week 1 53-man roster projection v.3
By Sanjit T.
Running Back (5): Josh Jacobs, Doug Martin, Jalen Richard, Deandre Washington, Keith Smith
Josh Jacobs looked really good Thursday against the Cardinals. The Raiders gave him the ball on three straight running plays, and he made something happen on each run. The first play of the game went for six yards, second for eight yards, and the last for six.
Josh Jacobs is the real deal. He will make a significant impact on this team.
Aside from Jacobs, Deandre Washington had a pretty decent game too. He caught a pass for 33 yards, which set up the Raiders second touchdown. Doug Martin and Jalen Richard will also have an excellent role in this offense, as they did in 2018, when Richard caught 68 receptions and over 600 yards, while Martin rushed for over 700.
The most significant question mark I have for this team is the fullback position. Alec Ingold looks really good, but he has to improve his run blocking. In Week 2 of the preseason game, the Raiders had Ingold block 14 times, 12 running plays and 2 passing plays. Evident by these numbers, Jon Gruden needs his fullback to block.
I don’t think Ingold is ready today. Practice Squad makes sense for a year, or maybe a few weeks, while Keith Smith makes sense to start come Week 1 of the regular season.
Another significant factor of Smith being on the roster is because of his special teams play. Over 300 snaps last year, coach Rich Bisaccia really likes him.