The Las Vegas Raiders had the worst rushing attack in the NFL last season, mustering just 79.8 yards per game on the ground. The failure to get the ground game going took a toll on the offense, so Pete Carroll and John Spytek revamped the room this offseason.
Obviously, the team drafted Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they also signed veteran Raheem Mostert, who is familiar with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Otherwise, the room looks similar, with Sincere McCormick, Zamir White, Dylan Laube and Chris Collier.
Jeanty is the clear-cut starter, and he showed why in his second preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. Behind him, however, the Raiders have some incredibly difficult decisions looming about how many running backs they can keep, and which ones they'll have to part ways with.
Raiders have difficult decision to make at running back for 53-man roster
Mostert is the most experienced player and was signed by the current regime due to his rapport with Kelly, so he seems the safest. It was interesting to see him playing so late into the third quarter on Saturday, but perhaps they wanted him to get his legs under him before the season.
Through two preseason games, he has run the ball four times for 20 yards and caught three passes for 16 yards. These 36 yards on seven touches average out to 5.1 yards per touch, which is a solid mark for an NFL running back.
White blew his opportunity to be the franchise running back last season, as underperformance and injuries both plagued him in 2024. However, Carroll has praised him at length this offseason. Still, he has just seven yards on three carries and no catches this preseason, which is 2.3 yards per touch.
McCormick has done a lot better than this, as he has four rushes for 13 yards and a nine-yard reception. He is averaging 4.4 yards per touch on five plays that went his direction through the first two preseason games.
Laube and Collier have produced far more than any of these three. However, they have played exclusively against end-of-the-roster players. Still, Laube has seven rushes for 39 yards and a six-yard touchdown, leading the group with 5.6 yards per touch and the only score.
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Collier has been the leading rusher, running 13 times for 68 yards, which averages out to 5.2 yards per carry. He has not caught a pass, nor been targeted, this preseason, but he has done the most with his reps on the ground.
When looking at these five players, it becomes clear that White is the low outlier at 2.3 yards per touch. This comes as no surprise, considering he averaged just 2.8 yards per rush in 2024. However, there is a bit more nuance that goes into this decision.
Special teams are a key factor, and thus far, Laube is the only one who has stood out in multiple facets. He has two special teams tackles, one in each game, as well as two punt returns for 20 yards and a 27-yard kick return. Not only can he return both kicks and punts, but he can play coverage teams as well.
While White has averaged 30.5 yards on two kick returns, and McCormick has averaged 26.5 yards, Collier ran his lone kick return back for 32 yards. Again, Collier is playing against inferior competition, but he is not squandering his opportunity.
At the end of the day, Carroll and his staff have a borderline surplus of solid players at the running back position to supplement Ashton Jeanty, which is crazy to think about, given where the room was last season. They cannot necessarily go wrong, but they may also have to part ways with a good player.
That has made the decision difficult for the Raiders, as they try to narrow things down for a 53-man roster. Mostert should be a lock, and based on production, White should be the odd man out. But it remains to be seen if things will shake out that way, as there are plenty more tests still to come.