Everyone in the world knew that the Las Vegas Raiders were going to select a running back during the 2026 NFL Draft. They met with too many players at the position throughout the process for it to all be just smoke, and Klint Kubiak loves himself a two-back system.
It made sense, then, that John Spytek got aggressive on Day 3 and found the perfect Ashton Jeanty complement in Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. with the No. 122 pick. While he still has plenty to learn, he is an NFL-ready player who should carve out a role right away.
But the selection of Washington Jr. is a bit deeper than that. When looking at the tandem of running backs that he took to a Super Bowl last season, Kubiak surely realized that Jeanty could be his Kenneth Walker III. And now Washington Jr. is his perfect Raiders version of Zach Charbonnet.
Klint Kubiak just found the Las Vegas Raiders version of Zach Charbonnet with Mike Washington Jr. pick
Walker and Jeanty are quite comparable players, given their similar builds and running styles. And, to nobody's surprise, Washington Jr. is practically a Charbonnet clone. Both are big runners at around 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, and they've got long arms and a great athletic profile.
Both are more upright runners whose strength wasn't necessarily running between the tackles coming out of college, and although Washington Jr. is much faster, they both have great build-up speed and can punish teams if they can bounce it outside.
Having a myriad of different running backs, stylistically, always keeps defenses on their toes. And while both Jeanty and Washington Jr. are electric with the ball in their hands, can break tackles and catch passes, Jeanty is more of a patient runner, and Washington Jr. just wants to get to the hole.
That pretty much describes the difference between Walker III and Charbonnet, too. Kubiak loved mixing it up with those two players in Seattle, and now that he has two backs from a similar mold in Las Vegas, the fun can begin for the Raiders' offense.
Charbonnet, although never the bellcow back, recorded over 450 yards as a rookie and added 209 yards through the air. He has improved every year in the NFL, but Charbonnet really took off under Kubiak's coaching.
Washington Jr. following a similar trajectory would be a dream-like scenario for the Raiders, and perhaps his learning curve is a bit flatter because he'll have Kubiak right out of the gates. Regardless, it's not hard to see what Kubiak sees in Washington Jr.
Add us as a preferred source on Google