The Las Vegas Raiders have had their share of draft woes in recent seasons. Obviously, not every player can pan out and be a star for the Silver and Black, but the team has found little to no value in the later rounds over the last few years.
Unfortunately, only eight of the 18 players drafted on Day 3 between 2021 and 2024 remain on the roster, four of whom are from last year's draft, and none of whom start. To make matters worse, the players who have left Las Vegas have, largely, not even found valuable roles on other NFL teams.
One of these players, Brittain Brown, was essentially set up to fail with the Raiders. With Josh Jacobs still on the roster and Georgia's Zamir White being taken in the fourth round the same year, Las Vegas selected the UCLA running back with seemingly no plan to develop him or work him into the offense.
Former Raiders RB Brittain Brown showed out in first Bears preseason game
Brown lasted just over a season in Las Vegas, but he recently signed with the Chicago Bears before the second week of the preseason. Considering the Bears have a shaky running back room, at best, and an up-and-coming offensive-minded head coach, this was a great place for Brown to land.
In his first preseason game with the Bears against the Buffalo Bills, Brown showed out for Chicago in the 38-0 victory. He ran the ball 16 times for 73 yards, which averages out to 4.6 yards per carry, and he added a touchdown on the ground as well.
He still earned a low Pro Football Focus grade of 59.7 due to poor pass-blocking and no contributions as a receiver, but still, this was Brown's best performance of his NFL career. Even in the preseason, he never had an impactful game like that for the Silver and Black.
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At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Brown is a big and bruising running back whose physical stature and running style indicate that he should be an effective NFL player. He has not been able to put it all together yet, but perhaps Sunday's game was a start.
Brown will have to beat out players like Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler, Kyle Monangai and Deion Hankins for a spot on the roster, but with more strong performances like this, he may be well on his way to at least a practice squad spot in Chicago.
Luckily for the Raiders, they do not have to feel bad about giving up on Brown. They ended up with Ashton Jeanty, who may very well be the best running back in the league in the not-too-distant future, so Raider Nation is surely cheering for Brown to revitalize his career.