New Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak is not shy about his love of running the football. In a simple sense, it shows up in the stats of his offenses, with the Seattle Seahawks rushing 50% of the time during the 2025 NFL season. That's a high mark in a pass-heavy league.
What this means is that fans are going to see the Raiders pound the rock for the first time in years. When Las Vegas drafted Ashton Jeanty, it wanted to maximize his potential and help him become one of the best backs in football. Kubiak is here to actually help him reach that next level.
Jeanty can’t run the ball every snap, though, so that’s where it is important to have multiple backs at your disposal. John Spytek chose to draft Mike Washington Jr. out of Arkansas in Round 4 of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Dylan Laube continues to raise his profile with the coaching staff.
Kubiak said as much after a few training camp practices.
Mike Washington Jr. and Dylan Laube could have roles in Raiders' offense
Early reports out of training camp have indicated that both Laube and Washington Jr. are performing well in the early going. Laube has struggled to see the field during his young career, at least on offense, but he has excelled on special teams.
Kubiak has become a fan of Laube’s game and his growth from OTAs to training camp.
"Just another guy that is a solid [special] teams player, that is very bright and has made a solid first impression"Klint Kubiak on Dylan Laube
Washington Jr. has been making plays in training camp so far as well. Washington rushed for 1,070 yards at Arkansas last season and has 4.3 speed to create explosive plays. He is expected to become the 1-2 punch with Ashton Jeanty after being taken on Day 3.
“Yeah, Mike is a rookie. A rookie back in the NFL is hard work, especially in the protection game," Kubiak noted. "So we're giving him a ton of reps there, and just keep him growing. It's a competition with Mike, with [Dylan] Laube, with Chris Collier.”
The competition for the second running back spot has become slimmer with Chris Collier being waived on Friday. It now boils down to Laube and Washington Jr. When the pads come on, that's when the real competition begins.
“Like I said in OTAs, their true colors come out when the real football starts," Kubiak said. "So, still in underwear out there, but I can't wait to watch him and Ashton [Jeanty] and all of our backs, Mike [Washington], keep growing and keep getting good reps.”
The Raiders are putting on pads starting Monday. Fans will see which back starts to take the reins and becomes the number two guy behind Jeanty. But at least through this portion of training camp, Kubiak has liked what he's seen.
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