Oakland Raiders: Running Back Options Not Named Lynch Or Peterson

The Oakland Raiders are expected to add another running back after letting Latavius Murray walk away as a free agent – let’s look at a few options that could be solid fits.

Having letLatavius Murraywalk away as a free agent – reportedly, without even offering him a deal – the Oakland Raiders have created a hole in the backfield they need to fill.

While the common wisdom is that Murray was allowed to walk so the Raiders could get a younger, more cost effective replacement, the rumors aboutMarshawn Lynchcoming out of retirement to join the Silver and Black persist.

Given the fact that Lynch is coming off a year away from football – and the year before that was an injury riddled affair that saw his productivity fall off the table – bringing the former Seahawk in to be the bellcow could very well be a mistake. Unless, of course, he agreed to a rock bottom basement deal with the team – say, playing for the veteran minimum?

There are no guarantees Lynch is coming. Or if he does, that he’ll even be even more than a shadow of what he used to be. Which means, the Raiders need to think about other ways to fill the hole created by Murray’s departure. And the most cost-effective way to do that is via the upcoming NFL Draft.

With some top-notch talent in the pool, the Raiders should be able to find some running backs who can be a complementary piece to last season’s rookie standoutsDeAndre WashingtonandJalen Richard.

They need to find the thunder to accommodate that lightning. They need to re-form the three-headed beast that was so effective and helped vault Oakland’s offense into the stratosphere last season.

GMReggie McKenziehas had some success in identifying talent, even in the later rounds – remember, Murray was a sixth-round pick – so, given their other pressing needs, it’s possible, if not probable, that he’ll wait until the later rounds to address their need for a complementary back.

So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at a few running back options for the Raiders…

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