The Oakland Raiders still need help at the running back position

The Oakland Raiders may have done a lot of great things this offseason, but the running back position still remains very weak heading into 2019.

The Oakland Raiders are undoubtedly one of the biggest winners of the 2019 offseason. The team came away with major offseason acquisitions such as Antonio Brown and Trent Brown to go along with lower-profile, solid signings of Lamarcus Joyner and Tyrell Williams among others.

One of the clear points of emphasis for Oakland in the offseason was the offense as Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock, and co. were focused on building around quarterback Derek Carr. The fifth-year signal-caller struggled at times last season due to a lack of legitimate playmakers and a subpar offensive line.

The addition of Trent Brown helps solidify the offensive line with Brandon Parker likely moving back to a reserve role. And the additions of Antonio Brown, Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson, and Ryan Grant should help to revamp a Raiders receiving core that was relatively lacking last season.

But the moves the team made at the running back position leave little to be desired.

The Raiders said goodbye to their two leading rushers from 2018 in Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin leaving their running back room in need of a complete upheaval. To this point, it’s hard to say that there has been a significant improvement.

The team signed former New York Jets running back Isaiah Crowell to take over as the lead back, but it’s hard to see that signing as a major upgrade. His stats may look intriguing, but a deeper dive into his 2018 numbers paints a different picture.

In 13 games, Crowell rushed for 685 yards and six touchdowns on 143 carries for an excellent 4.8 yards per carry. But numbers can be deceiving sometimes.

Crowell rushed for a team-record 219 yards on just 15 carries with the Jets in Week 5 of last season. The game was highlighted by multiple long runs which contributed to his historic afternoon, but labeling that game as an outlier tells a different story.

If that game were to removed from his season-long stat line, Crowell would have averaged just a measly 3.64. That mark is lower than any Raiders running back who received a carry last season recorded.

In fact, both Lynch and Martin averaged a full 0.6 yards per carry more than Crowell without that game.

Now, it’s not entirely fair to just ignore one game of production, especially a record-shattering one like the one in question. That being said, it is useful when questioning the consistency of his play.

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Outside of Crowell, the Raiders return Jalen Richard, DeAndre Washington, and Chris Warren but all of them are better off serving as role players. Warren provides intrigue as a goal-line back and could compete for that role, but certainly shouldn’t be expected to get 10+ touches a game.

Oakland would be best served to address the position in the upcoming 2019 NFL Draft. With three first-round picks, the Raiders could use one of their two later first-rounders to select a player like Alabama’s Josh Jacobs provided he’s still available on the board.

If not, the team could always look to the middle rounds of the draft to select a player who would be used in more of a rotational role. A backfield by committee featuring the likes of Crowell, Richard, and a rookie who compliments their skill sets would be a potential upgrade from what the team worked with last year.

Especially if that rookie is the talented Jacobs.

Next. Oakland Raiders: Breaking down the Ryan Grant signing. dark

The Raiders may have done a lot to improve their offense in the offseason, but it’s hard to argue that they have adequately addressed the running back position.

But the good news is that the team still has time to correct their previous woes. And that all begins with the 2019 NFL Draft.

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