The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty to be a core piece of their offense. So, he naturally did not lack for work as a rookie, finishing seventh in the NFL in carries and sixth in touches. Now, imagine if the Raiders had a functional offense. A top-five finish in both metrics would have been a lock.
The arrival of Klint Kubiak as head coach brings the promise that the Raiders will have a highly functional offense. With that comes the automatic idea that there will be more backfield touches to be had, and finding someone capable of taking that work with little or no drop-off from Jeanty.
At the NFL Combine, Kubiak talked about his vision for the Raiders' backfield.
"Definitely want to have a two-man show there; guys that can share the load. It's a long season. You don't want to put all the carries and targets on one guy," Kubiak said. "Right now, we're identifying guys that are available here in the draft, identifying the free agents we might go after, looking at our own roster and seeing who can take that. But it is important that Jeanty has a wingman, and it's probably not going to be just one guy. So that'll be really important to identify."
That "two-man show" comment made fantasy football managers who have Jeanty in a dynasty league shudder. But it's also easy to read too much into those kinds of words from a coach. Plus, when it comes down to it, Kubiak knows where his running game bread will be buttered.
Raiders don't need to spend big on Kenneth Walker III in free agency
Putting Jeanty into some kind of 50-50 work split is a bad idea, and it is fair to assume that premier resources won't be allocated to adding a running back on that level anyway. While some obvious ties exist between Kubiak and Kenneth Walker III, the Raiders can't go down that path.
Nick Shook of NFL.com has offered six potential landing spots for Walker as the reigning Super Bowl MVP hits the free agent market next week. And for some reason, Las Vegas made the list when it shouldn't have.
"Speaking of tandems and familiarity, Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak is now manning the top job in Las Vegas and has already publicly stated he'd like to add a running mate for 2025 first-rounder and former Heisman Trophy runner-up. In theory, it's a splendid idea, but these Raiders have needs almost everywhere and need to dedicate resources toward reconstructing what was the worst offensive line in the NFL last season," Shook wrote. "However, because we're projecting and living in a dreamland, why not pair Walker with the OC who guided the Michigan State product to the best season of his career, capped by a memorable showing on the sport's biggest stage? After all, if projected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is going to have a decent chance of turning around the Raiders, he'll need quality support from the teammates to whom he is handing the ball in 2026. Walker would fill that need and serve as one half of a high-potential tandem wearing Silver and Black."
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For much of his career to this point with the Seahawks, Walker has been in a backfield timeshare. So, as teams consider pursuing him, the question about whether he can be an unchecked workhorse back is a viable one.
But Walker has totaled at least 219 carries in three of his four seasons, with six missed games in the one exception. Kubiak's desire to take some work off Jeanty's plate is understandable and justified, but Walker is a few steps too far on that idea.
Not to mention that he's likely to get multiple contract offers that are better than what the Raiders would, or should, do with bigger needs to fill. Rachaad White or a late-round draft pick may be more of Las Vegas' speed this offseason.
Walker to the Raiders is low-hanging prediction fruit based solely on his tie to Kubiak, and Shook even called the idea "living in a dreamland." That could be a code phrase for "this doesn't make sense," because the pairing of Jeanty and Walker doesn't hold up logically.