Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Players under pressure heading into OTAs

Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Players under pressure heading into OTAs

Jalen Richard

Ever since Jalen Richard’s miraculous, 75-yard touchdown run in his debut game against the New Orleans Saints in 2016, Richard has been a regularly used weapon for the offense. While Richard has had a few impressive performances in the past, he’s certainly had a rough time in the past two years.

One of the biggest areas of struggle is his ability to protect the football. Throughout his career, Richard has fumbled 14 teams, with eight of those fumbles coming in 2017. He’s also occasionally struggled to reel in the football, possessing a career catching rate of around 80%.

So, while Richard has been a solid weapon during his time with Vegas, he’s certainly had struggles that led to turnovers and missed opportunities.

Also, in the past two years, Richard’s role has slowly dwindled with the introduction of players like Josh Jacobs and Devontae Booker. It looks like this trend will continue into 2021, with Las Vegas signing running back Kenyan Drake to a pretty hefty contract during the offseason.

Likely, he’ll be used in the same type of “pass-catching back” role that Richard has occupied in recent years. If Richard hopes to remain on the roster and be slated as the number three back, which is what he would be, then he is going to have to perform well at OTAs and show that he can compete with Drake.

It’s also important to note that Richard has removed everything involving the Las Vegas Raiders from his social media accounts, which could be a sign that Richard’s time with the team is coming to an end.