It has only been a few months since the Las Vegas Raiders officially hired Klint Kubiak to be their next head coach, but his fingerprints are already all over this team. John Spytek went out and broke the bank for a new center, signed Kirk Cousins and landed a promising fullback to boost Kubiak's offense.
And if history is any indication of how Kubiak is going to butter his bread, it'll be with the run game. Ashton Jeanty, last year's first-round pick, will be the focal point of the attack. But Kubiak has always utilized a two-headed monster approach to the ground game, and no current "second head" exists.
So, when Bleacher Report suggested that the running back position is a "surprising draft need" for Las Vegas, it wasn't actually all that shocking to Raiders fans, who have been pounding the table all offseason for a complementary back to provide a different element on the ground next to Jeanty.
Las Vegas Raiders "needing a RB" in 2026 NFL draft isn't all that hot a take under Klint Kubiak
Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine justified his position on the premise that Las Vegas doesn't really have a running back to relieve Jeanty, and he has a strong leg to stand on. Both Raheem Mostert and Zamir White are free agents, leaving only Dylan Laube and Chris Collier on the roster behind Jeanty.
Laube and Collier have both shown promise, albeit largely in the preseason, but it would be an unwise gamble for Spytek and Co. to count on them as the No. 2 back and have no contingency plan. Should they be given a chance to compete? Absolutely. But that's a far cry from giving them the job.
Re-signing Mostert should be in play for the Silver and Black, as he is an experienced runner in outside zone schemes and still has some tread on the tires. Plus, he helps in the return game. The Raiders also recently met with Najee Harris, so a veteran addition could still materialize.
Kubiak famously leaned on both Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet during his time with the Seattle Seahawks, and they rode that success to a Super Bowl. Walker III even earned Super Bowl MVP honors and landed a massive contract with the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason.
Clearly, Kubiak's offense has plenty of room for multiple running backs to thrive, making another addition necessary and expected. And while adding an experienced player for cheap is rarely a bad move, the Raiders might be better off continuing their trend of adding youth to the roster in the draft.
Ballentine had some mid-to-late round suggestions for Las Vegas, including Penn State's Kaytron Allen, Nebraska's Emmett Johnson and Washington's Jonah Coleman. While each of them has promise, and the Raiders met with Johnson at the NFL combine, Las Vegas may have other plans.
Of the 11 running backs that the Silver and Black have reportedly met with during the pre-draft process, Johnson has the highest grade, and he is supposed to land in the early fourth round. The Raiders are almost exclusively entertaining late Day 3 and undrafted free agent prospects.
Obviously, it would be unwise to rule anything out with weeks still until the draft, and with the event being as unpredictable as it has been over the years. But fans should familiarize themselves with less-heralded names like Kaelon Black, Adam Randall, Cam Porter, CJ Donaldson and Roman Hemby.
Allen and Coleman might go early on Day 3, or perhaps even late on Day 2, which should be too rich for Las Vegas' blood. With so many other holes and position groups to bolster, the Raiders aren't likely to draft a running back that early, unless some glaringly great prospect falls into their lap.
So, while Spytek isn't likely to scour the running back market until the dog days of the draft on Saturday afternoon, a running back addition certainly seems to be in the cards. And when Las Vegas does inevitably address the position, whenever that may be, fans certainly won't be "surprised."
They'll just want to know who it is and how they can help fill the obvious hole on the Raiders' roster.