Last year’s draftee, Josh Jacobs gave the Raiders running game the thump that Gruden loves in his featured backs. However, the Raiders are still missing a physical runner who can lighten the load for Jacobs. Most importantly, Gruden’s offense lacked a short yardage runner despite using his fullback, Alec Ingold.
Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a downhill runner out of Vanderbilt who consistently used a powerful stiff arm to throw off tacklers. His vision for a large back stands out from the rest of the pack as a player who can make easy adjustments on cutbacks. Vaughn is by no means a speed demon, but his role with the Raiders would be used primarily to pick up short yardage.
With Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington set to hit the free agent market this offseason, a new running back is likely to be in the cards for the Raiders.
Pros:
- Physical runner
- Yards after contact
- Strength
Cons:
- Non factor in passing game
- Speed
- Workload