The Las Vegas Raiders had one of the worst offenses in the league last season. This was in part due to poor quarterback play, but the unit's complete inability to run the ball made the team one-dimensional. Las Vegas only mustered 79.8 yards per game on the ground, which put even more pressure on the subpar quarterbacks that the team had under center.
Because the crop of free agents was relatively weak, many teams, including the Raiders, began to divert their attention to the running backs in the NFL Draft. The class is supposed to have one of the deepest groups at the position in recent memory, and Las Vegas would be smart to take advantage.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is the headliner, and he is the player who is most frequently projected to be taken by Las Vegas with the No. 6 pick. However, in such a talented class, one NFL insider suggested that the Raiders should lean on a key connection they have to solve their running back woes.
Insider suggests Raiders lean on Chip Kelly's connections to solve RB issue
On Thursday, Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated addressed several fan questions, one of which concerned Las Vegas' options in the first round. Breer suggested that the Raiders should avoid a running back with the No. 6 pick and take one of Chip Kelly's old backs in the second round instead.
"I don't know that the Raiders, right now, are in a position to draft a running back that high," said Breer. "There's a lot of depth in the running back class, so they could come back and get one of the Ohio State running backs, get a Quinshon Judkins or maybe a TreVeyon Henderson."
Pete Carroll hired Kelly to be the Raiders' offensive coordinator this season after his impressive campaign with Ohio State last year. He helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship, and his use of Judkins and Henderson was a major component of their success.
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Raider Nation is currently divided on whether or not the team should select Jeanty with the No. 6 pick. On the one hand, he is a generational talent, but on the other, he has low positional value and the team has a slew of other needs.
Both Judkins and Henderson could be Week 1 starters for the Raiders as well, and they would be more familiar with Kelly's offense right off the bat. Last season, the two split time, but they both collected over 1,200 all-purpose yards, however, Judkins had 16 touchdowns, whereas Henderson only recorded 11.
The good news is that if Jeanty is not available at No. 6 or the franchise opts to go in a different direction, they have this connection to fall back on. Las Vegas needs a starting running back to pair with Raheem Mostert and Sincere McCormick, but they may have to wait until the second round to get him.