Oakland Raiders: 4 Intriguing Position Battles Worth Keeping An Eye On

Dec 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray (28) runs the ball against the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Bills 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Running Backs – Latavius Murray v. Trent Richardson

The big battle of course, is going to be between incumbent Latavius Murray and newcoming Trent Richardson. Though Oakland has other capable backs on the roster like Marcel Reece and Roy Helu, who should still get plenty of touches between them, the big battle for perhaps, the lion’s share of carries is likely to come down to Murray and Richardson.

Though Murray showed some incredible life and energy in limited action last season, the coaching staff isn’t convinced he can be the bell cow just yet. On just 82 carries last season, Murray totaled 424 yards on the ground for a healthy average of 5.2 ypc. That is of course, a miniscule sample size, which is likely why the Raiders’ coaching staff needs some convincing.

Richardson of course, is an enigma. He lit up the college game, but has not yet been able to translate that electricity in his game to the pro level. He says that it was just a bad fit in Cleveland and Indianapolis, and that his skills didn’t mesh well with their schemes. He has gone on to say that he’s comfortable with what Oakland is running simply because it mirrors what he did at Alabama so closely – a sentiment echoed by first round pick Amari Cooper.

It’s possible that by putting him in situations where he’s comfortable and can have some success, Richardson can finally flourish into the NFL back he was supposed to be when Cleveland took him with the third overall pick. Perhaps he can finally live up to that potential and become a dangerous NFL running back.

And it’s also possible that given more carries, Murray can show that what he did over 82 carries last season is something he can continue to do. He certainly seems to have the talent, as well as the desire to be productive, if not great, on the NFL stage. If last season was just scratching the surface of what Murray can do when he’s given the bulk of the carries, he could very quickly become a nightmare for opposing defenses.

An even better scenario for the Raiders is that both Murray and Richardson can show that they deserve the carries, can both live up to the potential they’ve flashed, and form an incredibly potent one-two punch in Oakland’s backfield. The best case scenario is that they share carries and give Oakland one of the more powerful running attacks they’ve had in recent memory.

Next: Battle #2: Tight Ends