Moe Moton
Running Back
Barring extensions, DeAndre Washington and Jalen Richard will hit the free-agent market, leaving the backfield without a viable backup to Josh Jacobs. Gruden absolutely needs two or three tailbacks for his ground attacks. He’ll wear out one ball-carrier alone.
In three of his last four seasons as a head coach and play-caller, Gruden’s offenses have ranked 11th in rushing attempts versus one year with a pass-heavy group (sixth in attempts). While many look at him as a quarterback guru, he clearly prefers to pound the football.
Since Week 7 of this past season, Jacobs played through a fractured shoulder. He needs someone to spell him in the rushing offense to lighten his load going forward. The Raiders can re-sign Isaiah Crowell, who suffered a torn Achilles before the 2019 season started, or pursue a player not coming off a serious injury.
Top Target: Kenyan Drake
Once Kenyan Drake arrived in Arizona, he seemed free of the shackles placed on him in the Miami Dolphins backfield. He registered three 110-plus yard rushing performances and finished with a season-high 817 yards on the ground, overtaking All-Pro running back David Johnson as the Cardinals’ top ball-carrier.
At 6’1″, 211 pounds, Drake can handle short-yardage situations, but he’s also effective in the open field as a receiver. The 25-year-old has consecutive 50-catch campaigns going into the 2020 offseason. He’s accustomed to providing efficiency while sharing his workload, which would be ideal alongside Jacobs.
Alternative Option: Jordan Howard
Jordan Howard would provide more physicality to the Raiders’ running back group. He’s a bruising tailback, who can make one cut and go upfield with power behind his pads.
Howard didn’t fare well in Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy’s system, running out of the shotgun. He split his workload with rookie second-rounder Miles Sanders in Philadelphia for the 2019 term. So, his numbers over his last two years don’t look impressive.
Yet, under former Bears head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, Howard excelled in an offense built to run the football between the tackles. As a fifth-rounder out of Indiana, he eclipsed 1,100 rushing yards in consecutive seasons as a grinder on the ground.
In Gruden’s system, Howard could find his way back to highly productive years as a downhill north-sound ball-carrier.
