Las Vegas Raiders: Kenyan Drake may have to carry the load in Week 1
By Brad Weiss
News broke Sunday night that Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has been downgraded for tonight’s game, meaning it could be the Kenyan Drake Show.
The Las Vegas Raiders brought Kenyan Drake in to spell Josh Jacobs this season in the run game, while also being a weapon in the passing game. Heading into the Week 1 matchup against Baltimore, it had looked like the Raiders had a decided advantage at running back between the two teams, especially with what both Jacobs and Drake bring to the table.
Instead, the Raiders could be without Jacobs on Monday night, as he was downgraded to questionable on Sunday due to an illness. Luckily for the Silver and Black, the team has a more than capable backup in Drake, who rushed for nearly 1,000 yards last season as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
While Drake is not considered to be on the level that Jacobs is, he is a guy who has carried the load for an NFL franchise before and should have no problem having a positive impact on this game. He is great in the run, and passing game, and with all of the weapons Derek Carr has at his disposal, you can expect Drake to be very much involved with what the team wants to do on offense.
Raiders have an elite RB2 in Kenyan Drake
Adding Drake seemed like a waste of money at the time, as many fans figured the team could just roll with Jalen Richard behind Jacobs, or have an even cheaper free agent come in, as they did with Devontae Booker last year. However, this turn of events has proven that Drake being added was a smart move, and could be the difference between a win and a loss against Baltimore.
I am not saying that Drake should run it 25-plus times, and get ten targets, but what I am saying is that if the wide receiver struggle and Carr needs to lean on him, Drake is more than capable of having the offense run through him.
The Raiders will also be without Richie Incognito and will have to turn to a second-year player in John Simpson to man the left guard spot. Incognito is one of the better offensive guards in the NFL, so that is a big loss, but everything we have seen out of Simpson tells us he should be able to step in and get the job done.